The Day the Laughter Died
by lulutree
Summary: Luan Loud is accused of a crime she did not commit. It is up to the detective team of Lincoln and Lucy to find the truth. Rated T for some minor swearing, minor violence and mentions of drug use in later chapters.
1. Foreshadowing

"Gary, Gary! Where are you?"

Fourteen-year-old Luan Loud had finally ended up in the attic. It was the last place she had left to look. Raising her arm and pulling back the sleeve of her tuxedo, she peered down at her watch.

 _"_ _Fifteen minutes…"_ she thought.

"Gary, are you up here?" she called, her irritation evident in her tone.

 _"_ _This is not like Gary at all."_

"Hey."

"EEP!" Luan jumped about a foot in the air at the sudden and somewhat creepy voice coming to her right.

Looking over, she found her eight-year-old sister Lucy standing there. She was the goth of the large Loud family.

 _"_ _Funny, she wasn't there a second ago…"_ she thought, aloud she said. "Have you seen Gary?"

Normally, she would have shot off a quick pun at her sister for startling her, but she had neither the time nor the patience at that moment. She was scheduled to be performing her magic act at a birthday party in fifteen minutes and her white rabbit, Gary, had suddenly gone missing…from the house she was to be performing at.

"No, I have not," Lucy responded, dryly. "I have been up here all day, working on my poetry."

"This is the last place for me to search, could you help me?"

"Of course."

The two girls searched every nook and cranny in the small attic, but there was no sign of the rabbit.

Luan checked her watch again. Ten more minutes until show time. Panic began to twist around in her stomach, threatening to overflow. Tears began welling up in her eyes.

"He-he's never done this before. I don't understa-"

"Luan? Luan are you here?" Came Lincoln's voice from the second floor.

Luan ran down the attic stairs to the second floor hallway.

"I'm here! I'm looking…"

She stopped speaking when she spotted Gary curled up in Lincoln's arms. The boy looked concerned.

"Gary, where on earth have you been," Luan cried, taking the rabbit into her arms. "It's time for the show! Why are you shaking?"

The small rabbit was quaking in her arms and had a terrified look on his cute little face. This was not like him at all.

"I found him by the garage, behind a garbage can," Lincoln said. "It took a lot of coaxing to get him to come out. He was like this when I found him. Do you know what happened?"

"I don't."

Luan explained that she had put him in his carrier and loaded him onto her cart along with the rest of her equipment. He had been present inside the carrier when they had arrived at the party host's house and she had left him in the room that the family had let her use to change. She hadn't noticed him missing until she had finished setting up and was changing into her costume. She hadn't checked on him when she entered the room, she had no reason to at the time.

Once she had found him missing she had searched the whole house, with the help of the family's cleaning ladies and her entire route she had used to get to the birthday house, following it back to her home. Then, she had searched the house from bottom to top, finally ending up in the attic.

"He should have been alone the whole time," she said. "I have to go, I'm gonna be late."

Luan hurried out the front door and back towards the birthday party. Once Gary realized that they were headed back, he began to kick and struggle in an attempt to get away.

"Gary! What has gotten into you? Hey, it's alright!"

She stroked him gently on is head and ears, cradling him to her chest. He stopped struggling.

"Gary, it's alright. We are just doing the same act we always do together. Why are you so scared?"

Gary looked intently at the house the birthday party was being held at. It was a large colonial and in a spendy part of Royal Oaks, but it wasn't that far away from the Loud house. The house was decorated on the frount with balloons and streamers and the faint sound of pop music could be heard wafting from the backyard.

Luan looked from her rabbit to the house and back again.

"Do you not like it at this house?"

Gary looked at her intently and wiggled his nose.

"There's no reason to be afraid. It's just the Cranes. Sure they are a bit hoity-toity, but they seem alright to me. I've already made the commitment to be here, so we'll just have to get it over with, OK?"

Luan stepped up to the front door and walked inside. They were just in time.

"You don't have to worry, Gary. Nothing bad is going to happen."


	2. The Act

Luan stowed Gary in his carrier and hurried out to the backyard. Mr. and Mrs. Crane, Alvin and Susan, were standing near the back door. Other parents and the child guests were milling about in various groups. The parents were all standing in small groups by the drink and buffet tables with brightly hued cocktails in their hands while the children chased each other around or bounced in the bouncy castle. There was a caterer and his assistant talking to a couple of the parents and the two cleaning ladies who had helped Luan look for Gary were trying to pick up after the guests.

What resulted was a cacophony of noise that made the usually confident Luan feel nervous and overwhelmed.

She was about to head to the stage that had been set up for her, when Mr. and Mrs. Crane approached her and pulled her to the back side of the stage.

"You just barely showed back up in time," Mrs. Crane said, clearly irritated. "Where were you?"

"I had to check the sound equipment myself," Mr. Crane complained. "That was supposed to be your job, kid."

"We hired you based on a recommendation of a good friend of ours," Mrs. Crane said. "Don't make us regret our decision, Luan. I'm sure your _giant_ family could use the money. Money is sure to be scarce for a family such as yours who is trying to overpopulate the world."

"My family doesn't take…" Luan said, but was interrupted by cheers.

The two dozen or so kids had spotted her, led by the birthday boy, now nine-year-old Benjamin Crane. The strawberry blonde boy beamed up at her and hooped about in excitement.

"You're here!" he exclaimed.

"Oh…yes, I'm here," Luan said, hesitantly. She looked back the adult Crane's for a quick second before continuing to speak. "Let's get this party started!"

She quickly put Gary in his proper place and stuck her red clown nose onto her real one before bouncing onto the stage. By that time, all the kids were standing at the front, waiting excitedly for the show to begin. She took a deep breath and smiled her biggest smile. Never had she been so nervous to put on a show, especially one she had done many times before and had done her very best to perfect.

"Welcome one and all to my stage of mystery! You will be dazzled," she pulled a bright lamp from under her coat tails, "bedazzled," she stuck her hands into her pockets and pulled them back out with large costume jewelry rings on all ten fingers, "and possibly frazzled!"

As she spoke the final word, she was shot in the face with water by all of the rings at once. Luan acted surprised as she stared out over the crowd of children and parents, her face dripping water. The children giggled and squirmed.

Luan's magic act was also a comedy act and shared many of the same elements as her clown act. In parts, she incorporated audience members, usually the birthday boy or girl would be one of the participants.

The teenager started her approximately thirty minute act the usual way, working with Gary. She started by making a stuffed white rabbit appear from a seemingly empty brown, paper bag. After proving that it was indeed a fake rabbit by having Ben touch it and squish it, she had him hold the rabbit and placed a thin white scarf over the rabbit. She waved her magic wand, had Ben say the magic words, _Abra cadabra_ , and whipped the scarf away.

 _The stuffed rabbit was now Gary!_

Luan took Gary and held him up for all to see. The kids all cheered and laughed. Suddenly, or so it seemed to the audience anyway, Gary jumped up onto Luan's bare head.

"Hey, you!"

Luan grabbed for the rabbit, but jumped away and appeared on her left shoulder. She grabbed for him again, but popped up on her right shoulder. The audience of grade-schoolers were laughing uproariously as this was going on.

Luan grabbed for Gary once again and he hopped onto her head and wiggled his nose, in a seemingly cheeky way. Slowly, the teenager reached for her top hat, but not being able to reach it, looked to Ben who was still standing on the stage with her.

"Could you hand me my top hat please?"

Quickly, he grabbed her hat and handed it to her. Carefully, she took the brim in both her hands on either side and made exaggerated movements of preparing to put it over her head. All at once, she flipped the hat around and over, onto her head, trapping Gary underneath.

"Hah, now I got you, you wascally wabbit," Luan exclaimed.

Using both of her hands, she squished her hat down to her head, making it as flat as a pancake. She took the hat off and showed the audience that it was solid. The children oo'd and ah'd and cheered. Several made guesses as to where the rabbit had gone.

"It's hanging off her back!"

Luan turned to show that there was nothing hanging off her back or anywhere else on her body. She turned to Benjamin and handed him the hat. He tapped it and tossed it from hand to hand before handing it back to Luan.

"Where's the rabbit?"

"You didn't see him?"

Luan jerked the hat to the side and popped it back out. Reaching her hand in she felt around.

"I know he was in there somewhere?" She then called into the hat, "Gary, where are you? The game is over, you can hop on out!"

She pulled her hand out, in it was a half-eaten carrot.

"Gary I asked you to clean up in there after our last show! Come out!"

She stuck her hand in once again, pulling out a number of items. First came a flower, next was a string of scarves, and finally the stuffed rabbit again.

"This bunny really _Bugs_ me, get it?" she laughed. "Alright, Gary it's time to carrot out."

She reached into her hat one last time before Gary popped his head out from its opening. The kids cheered and clapped. Some claiming there was no way he could have been trapped in the hat before. None of them had seen her put the rabbit or any of the other items in the hat, but none of them could come up with an explanation of how Luan had done her trick.

Over the following half hour, Luan preformed a variety of simple illusion and card tricks, all the while incorporating her quirky sense of comedy. For several tricks she employed the help of Ben Crane, the most complicated of which had Ben appear to levitate off the stage.

Her finale was an escape act. It was a new addition to her act, she had only performed it twice before and was only doing a fairly simple escape. She had Ben handcuff her behind her back and then secure a canvas poncho over her with many buckles, snaps and knots. She had him set a time for ninety seconds. Then, Ben joined the rest of the children to watch.

After about thirty seconds of grunting, the audience could tell that Luan had released her cuffs. She grunted and squirmed about, unbuckling the buckles and untying the knots from under the poncho. She beat the timer by ten seconds. The crowd cheered and clapped as she took a bow, Gary on her shoulder.


	3. The Accusation

"I'm sorry Luan, we'll do what we can," Rita Loud told her daughter. "The Cranes are an influential family in this town. They can also afford a better lawyer than we can I'm sure."

"I don't know if $10 is worth going to court over," Lynn Loud Sr. said, sadly. "But it does really grind my gears! To think, people who are supposed to be so prim and proper and have such an impact on the community stiffing a child out of hard earned money!"

Luan scrubbed at her eyes, her typical cheery demeanor nowhere to be seen. Her mind went back to the end of the party. Mrs. Crane had approached her as she was packing up her equipment. The woman handed her a twenty dollar bill.

"Ma'am, my half hour fee is $30 for the act you asked for," Luan told her, not impolitely.

"Yes well, you need to keep working on it, I found it subpar."

"Subpar?" Luan said, incredulously. "Your son told me he loved it, along with several of the other kids and their parents. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Plus, $30 was the agreement. You can't back out of that just because you didn't like it."

The woman told her that she could take the twenty or leave with nothing and had two men escort her to the sidewalk. Luan not knowing what else to do, had just pulled her cart home. She'd gone up to her room without speaking to anyone and pulled her blanket over her head. Luna had tried to get her to talk about what was troubling her, but Luan remained silent under the blanket. Luna sent their parents to talk to her when they arrived home an hour later.

"So the Cranes verbally agreed to the $30?" Rita asked.

"Mr. Crane did. I never spoke to Mrs. Crane before the party."

"Very good," Rita said. "In some cases verbal agreements are as legally binding as written ones. We have a case."

"But dear, it's $10," Lynn said. "I don't see us having the money to fight a drawn out court battle, even if we won and had the Cranes pay the attorney fees as part of the settlement. It could take years."

"I know, Lynn. It's the principle of the thing. No one cheats my child!"

"I totally agree with you on that point. How about we speak with Mr. Crane himself first? He was the one who made the agreement."

"OK fine, I'll go call him now," Rita said.

Rita turned to her daughter and kneeled down to be eye level with Luan as she sat on her bed.

"Don't be discouraged, sweetie. This is going to come up from time to time if you are in the line of work you are in. There will always be someone who doesn't like what you do, even if there was nothing wrong with it. There will always be someone trying to get something for nothing. You just have to keep your chin up and keep doing what you love, OK?"

Luan leaned forward and hugged her mom tightly.

"Thanks, mom."

* * *

It had been two days since the birthday party and Luan had returned to her cheery, pun flinging self. The elder Lynn had been unable to get ahold of Alvin Crane either at his house or at his work, leaving multiple messages. He had been told by Mr. Crane's office and his house staff that the Cranes were away. Everyone connected to the Cranes was unwilling to speak to Lynn. His housekeepers in particular.

He told Luan not to worry, he would handle the issue. He was just trying to keep her chin up. He fully believed at that point that the Crane family was trying to stiff Luan on the $10. His plan was to have a sit down with Luan that evening after dinner to talk to her about their options for getting her money. Lynn had also discussed their options with his friend, John Parker, who was an attorney.

John wasn't optimistic about their chances at winning a case against the Cranes over $10. They had influence in the community and he knew that the Cranes had one of the top attorneys in the state on retainer. If they could get it to court the Louds would undoubtedly have their names dragged through the mud.

Lynn vowed to continue calling the other family. He wasn't going to let this drop. Seeing how crushed his funny girl had been made him see red. One way or another the Cranes were going to pay. Whether it be the $10 they owed Luan or through public humiliation.

 _"Public humiliation!"_ he thought. _"Now there's an idea!"_

Aloud he said,

"I could make flyers, write an opinion piece in the newspaper or even better have a reporter do a story on how Luan was cheated!"

"What are you shouting about dear?" Rita asked, walking into the kitchen where Lynn Sr. had been washing the dishes.

The doorbell sounded in the background and the parents heard multiple sets of feet race to the door, along with the shouting that usually accompanied any group effort from their eleven children. They let the kids deal with whoever it was at the door.

"Oh, I was just thinking of ways to stick it to those Cranes, I..."

"Mom, Dad!" came several simultaneous voices from the front of the house. "You two need to come out here!"

Lynn and Rita hurried to the living room. Lori, Luna, Lincoln, Lola and Lisa we're standing around the room. With them was a uniformed police officer and a middle-aged woman in a suit with a leather briefcase.

"Good afternoon, I'm Officer Mitchell with the Royal Oaks Police Department," the officer said. "Are you Mr. and Mrs. Loud?"

Lynn noticed at that point that the man was holding a folded up piece of paper in his hands.

"Yes I'm Lynn Loud Sr. and this is my wife, Rita. What can we do for you officer and...?"

"My name is Olivia Munson. I'm a probation officer with this county's juvenile court."

She extended her hand and shook both Lynn's and Rita's hands. She handed Lynn her business card.

"You're from the juvenile court?" Rita asked. "I don't understand. Why are the two of you here?"

"We're here for your daughter, Luan," Officer Mitchell said. "I have a warrant for her arrest. We often have an officer of the juvenile court involved with the arrest and filing of charges of juveniles."

Rita felt like the floor had fallen out from beneath her. Lynn was rendered speechless and just stared open mouthed at Ofc. Mitchell and Ms. Munson. A murmur of dissent went through the Loud kids in the room.

"Arrest Luan?" Rita stammered in disbelief. "For what?"

"For larceny and burglary," Ofc. Mitchell responded. He handed Rita the papers he had been holding. "This arrest warrant has the details of the charges."

Rita took the warrant in her hands, but didn't do more than glance at it. Her brain was unable to process the written word at that moment.

"I still don't understand. Luan would never, _never_ , commit any crime, must less larceny and burglary. She gets a little overexcited about April Fool's Day, but she would never steal anything. Who's accusing her of these things? What is going on?"

Rita looked towards her husband. His eyes appeared to be bulging from his head and his mouth hung open, the human equivalent of a computer blue screen. He would be no help.

"A valuable diamond bracelet was stolen from the home of Alvin and Susan Crane," Ofc. Mitchell said. "They noticed it missing two days ago, during the evening of their son's birthday, after the party they had held was finished. Luan performed at the Crane's as a magician, correct?"

"Yes, and they stiffed her $10…" Lynn blurted out too quickly. He could feel the color draining from his face as he realized he had just provided the cop with a motive for the theft. "But, she would never, _could_ _never_ do something like that. She is a kind hearted and trust worthy girl."

Luan's siblings sprung to her defense.

"You're insane if you think she would do something like that!" Lori shouted.

"The odds that Luan would commit a crime of any sort are infinitesimally miniscule," Lisa stated, matter-of-factly.

"Whaaa, she'd never do that!" Lola said.

"Blimey, aren't you bobbies arse-backwards," Luna said, her mother throwing her a dark look.

Lincoln could only shake his head.

 _L"uan steal…anything? That is not possible,"_ he thought.

"What my children say is true, even with the swearing," Rita looked pointedly at her 15-year-old, "Luan wouldn't steal from someone. Even if they had wronged her."

"I'm sure we can get everything cleared up," Ms. Munson said. "But, we have to go by the law now. The warrant was issued by a judge and we have to do as he or she ordered. Where is Luan?"

"She's not here!" Lola blurted out, jumping to the stair case, spreading her arms to block the way up.

Lynn sighed. He knew there was nothing he could do or say to prevent Luan from being arrested. He would just have to find Luan innocent in court, if he could. The Cranes, as he had noted multiple times in the two days prior, had deep pockets.

"Lola, stop that!" Rita exclaimed.

"Luan should be in her room," Lynn said. "I just have a question, before I let you arrest her. I need some more facts to be able to wrap my head around this. Why do the Cranes think Luan took it? When was the last time they saw the bracelet? A diamond bracelet is hardly something you wear and see everyday."

"Fair questions," Ofc. Mitchell said. "Which will all be answered once we get to the station. Since she is under eighteen, you or Mrs. Loud or both even, should be present during questioning."

"I'll go with Luan," Lynn said. "Dear, could you stay with the rest of the kids?"

Rita nodded as she guided Lola from the bottom stair of the house's staircase. Lynn led Ofc. Mitchell and Ms. Munson up the stairs and down the hall to the room Luan shared with Luna. Rita kept Lori, Luna, Lincoln, Lola and Lisa corralled in the family room. Lynn could just hear their comments of disbelief as he climbed the stairs.

Luan was lying her bed, the bottom level of a bunk bed. Ear buds were pushed into her ears and she was reading a clowning magazine. She didn't look up until they were all in the center of her room. She pulled the ear buds from her ears, tossed aside the magazine and stood up. The teen looked from one person to another, puzzled.

"Who are they?" she asked her father.

"This is Officer Mitchell and this is Ms. Munson. She is a probation officer for the juvenile court," Lynn said, pointing to the other two as he said their name. "They are here to arrest you."

Luan's brows creased in confusion.

"What?"

"The Cranes had a diamond bracelet go missing," her father continued. "They have accused you of stealing it."

"I didn't!"

Lynn stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder, kneeling down to look her in the eye. Tears were brimming in her eyes, about to spill down her cheeks.

"I believe you Luan," he said, softly. "But, you have to go with them to the police station. I'll be going with you too. I'm sure it is just a mistake and we can clear everything up. Will you cooperate with them?"

Tears were streaming down Luan's face now. She scrubbed at her eyes and gave a shaky nod. She looked to Ofc. Mitchell as he stepped forward. Lynn stood and stepped back.

"Miss Loud, you are under arrest on the charges of larceny and burglary, I'm going to read you your rights now," Ofc. Mitchell said, not unkindly. "It's called a Miranda Warning. I'm not going to ask you any questions regarding the charges, but it is just a precaution, OK? They will be reading them to you again once you are at the station. If you have any questions about what any of this means, please ask.

"Alright, Miss Loud, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?"

Ofc. Mitchell paused and looked at Luan.

"I understand," she said.

"With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?" he continued.

"I don't feel like talking to anyone right now," she said, looking at the floor. Tears were still streaming down her face.

"Are you going to be cooperative and walk down to my patrol car?" the officer asked. "That way, I don't have to place you in handcuffs."

Luan wiped the tears and snot from her cheeks and nose with her sleeve and nodded. Ofc. Mitchell and Ms. Munson stepped to either side of her bedroom door and motioned for her to step through. Luan hugged herself as she walked from her room, down the hall to the stairs. Ofc. Mitchell walked directly behind her and Ms Munson and Lynn were directly behind him.

Once Luan was at the bottom of the stairs, her siblings expressed, loudly, their belief that Luan was completely innocent. Luan didn't even look in their direction. A feeling of shame was consuming her. Rita rushed forward to embrace her, but Ofc. Mitchell put out an arm to stop her.

"Sorry ma'am. I can't allow that. She is in custody now."

Luan tried to block out the sound of her mother's crying, but couldn't. Fresh tears sprung to her face. She barely heard as Lynn told Rita that he would accompany Luan to the station for questioning and she should remain behind. Ofc. Mitchell said that Lynn could ride in the back of his vehicle to the station. He would be provided with a ride home when they were finished.

The small group stepped out onto the porch. Ofc. Mitchell greeted a group of four uniformed officers and a woman in a suit.

"Detective Strauss, you have the search warrant?"

"Right here," the woman in the suit said. "Judge Atwater signed it this morning."

She turned to Lynn.

"Mr. Loud, yes?" she asked.

He nodded.

"This is a warrant to search your property."

She handed him the paperwork. Rita came over to join them. Lynn handed the paperwork to her.

"Rita, my wife, will help facilitate this. I'm headed to the station with my daughter."

Ofc. Mitchell opened the back, passenger side door of his patrol vehicle for Luan and Lynn. After Lynn and Luan handed over all the items they had in their pockets, wallet for Lynn and candy and a water squirting flower for Luan, they both situated themselves on the backseat and buckled themselves in. Ofc. Mitchell got in the driver's seat. Lynn watched as Ms. Munson got into a tan sedan parked in front of the patrol car as they pulled away from the curb.

He took Luan's hand in his own and gave it a squeeze.

"It's gonna be alright."

* * *

**Note**

Procedure for detaining juvenile offenders based on the procedure that is used in the state where I live (Washington). It might just be the procedure in the county where I live. Never experienced it first hand (luckily) and not 100% familiar with it, so it is only based on it. I have no idea how Michigan handles juvenile cases, and while I did do a little research to try to find out, I don't really care. It's just a (fan) fiction story.


	4. The Interrogation

A silent Luan sat on a cold plastic chair, legs folded to her chest, arms wrapped around her knees. Lynn Sr. sat on a different type of plastic chair right next to her. He was leaning slightly forward, his hands on an old wooden table, his fingers intertwined.

They had been escorted to a small conference room, not a stereotypical interrogation room one would see on TV crime dramas, and told to wait. Large windows lined one wall and there were two more mismatched chairs across the bare table from them, one plastic and the other wood. The wood chair was probably the only remaining chair to go with the table.

"The cops probably have to make do with hand me downs when they need new equipment," Lynn thought.

Olivia Munson was standing just outside the door, making a phone call on her cell. Lynn strained to hear, but he could only make out that it was a heated exchange about a child. He turned to Luan, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. The teen still had the same shell shocked expression on her face she had on their way to the station and had not uttered a word the entire time.

"Hey, we will get this all sorted out," he assured her. "Just tell them what happened."

Luan didn't respond. She didn't even nod.

The sounds of footsteps came from the hallway and Munson put her phone in her purse. She and two men, one middle-aged and the other fairly young, entered the room. The two men were wearing semiformal clothing, long-sleeve button up shirts and slacks, no ties. The younger of the two carried an armful of bottles and cans. He put a bottle of water each in front of Luan and Lynn. He handed a bottle of water to Munson as she sat in a chair off to the side. He put two cans of coke in front of the two empty chairs across from the Louds. The two men took a seat in the empty chairs. The middle-aged man pulled a small tape recorder from a pants pocket and set it on the table. He turned it on.

"It is 2 p.m., Wednesday June 15th," the middle-aged man said, clearly. "I'm Detective James Paulson, I'm here with Detective Wesley Mason, Olivia Munson from Juvenile Probation, and the Louds, Luan Loud, age fourteen, and her father, Lynn Loud Sr.," he paused, "Did I pronounce your names correctly, Luan and Mr. Loud?"

"Yes," Lynn said.

"Hopefully, this won't take too long," Det. Paulson said. "I know you were read your rights at your home, Miss Loud, but I'm going to do it again so that it is recorded."

The detective recited the Miranda warning again and opened his Coke. Luan muttered a 'yes' that she understood. The detectives asked again if the Louds would like an attorney present.

Lynn shook his head.

"Luan hasn't done anything. She'll tell you what happened."

"If either of you want something other than water, juice, coffee, pop, just let us know," Paulson said. "If you need to use the restroom at any time, also just let us know."

"Thank you," Lynn said. Luan just nodded once.

"Now, Miss Loud," Det. Mason said, pulling out a small notebook. "The Cranes have accused you of stealing a diamond bracelet valued at $4,500. It was purchased by Mr. Crane as a one year wedding anniversary gift for Mrs. Crane twelve years ago. Mr. Crane told us that it was an 18k white gold tennis bracelet, set with fifty-two round cut diamonds."

He looked up at Luan, closing the notebook. She looked back at him without comment.

"Anyone thinking Luan would ever steal anything is insane," Lynn said. "Luan is one of the most honest of all our children. The Cranes seem to have it out for Luan. They weren't satisfied with her performance and didn't pay her full fee."

"How much did they short you, Luan?" Det. Paulson asked.

"$10," Luan said. "My fee was $30. They only gave me $20."

"So you were angry with them?" Det. Mason suggested.

"Yah, but I wouldn't steal from them. I didn't even know they had any bracelets or where they keep them."

"OK, OK," Det. Paulson said. "How about you tell us what happened the day of the party?"

"Before or after?"

"How about you start at the beginning of your day, when you got up," Det. Paulson said.

"My alarm woke me up at 7 a.m. so I had a lot of time to get ready. The party was at 11 a.m. at the Crane's house. I was planning on being there by 10 a.m. I took a shower and ate breakfast. I had all my equipment ready to go the night before so I just loaded it into my red wagon. I put my rabbit, Gary, in his carrier and put it on the wagon too. Then at a little before ten I walked to the Crane's house."

"Did anyone see you walk to their house?" Det. Mason asked.

"I saw her leave the house," Lynn said.

"So did my mom and all my siblings, except Lori. She was out with her boyfriend already."

"How about while you were on the way to the house?" Det. Mason pressed.

"Not that I know of. When I got there, I was let into the house by a housekeeper. They have two or three of them."

"Did you get the housekeeper's name?" Det. Mason asked.

"Cecilia or Celia, I think. It started with an 'S' sound."

Det. Mason looked in his notebook.

"They have a housekeeper named Celia Maldonado. Go on, what happened next?"

"Mrs. Crane came to the door. She said I could use a spare bedroom upstairs in the house. Celia showed me to the room."

"Was it near the master bedroom?" Det. Paulson asked.

"I-I don't know. They didn't point out any other rooms. The room I went to was at the very end of the hall from the stairs, on the left hand side."

"Was it facing the front or back of the house?" Det. Paulson asked.

"I don't remember. I don't remember looking out the window. It had an attached bathroom. I remember that."

"Your story is so far falling in line with what of Celia's," Det. Mason said. "Go on."

"I changed into my tuxedo and set up my equipment on the stage outside in the backyard."

"How long did it take you to set up?" Det. Paulson asked.

"Like a half hour, maybe. I don't know for sure. It usually takes me that long."

"Continue," Paulson said, nodding.

"I had to go back to the room because I had left Gary there to wait. When I got there, the carrier door was open and he wasn't inside it. I checked the entire room, under the bed and other furniture, and in the bathroom. He was gone."

"Did you leave the carrier door loose or ajar?" Det. Mason asked.

"Oh no, I keep it secure."

"How about the bedroom door, was it open?" Det. Mason asked.

"It was open when I came back for Gary, but I closed it when I left to set up."

"Did you latch it?" Det. Paulson asked.

"I don't remember."

"Did anyone see you go back to the room?" Det. Mason asked.

"I think so. There were party guests already there, kids and adults. I don't know any names."

"Go on," Paulson said.

"I saw a housekeeper and I asked her to help me look for Gary. It was a different one than Celia, but she had Celia help look for Gary. We couldn't find him in the house or yard, so I retraced my steps to my house and searched there. My brother, Lincoln found him by our garbage cans by the garage. Gary was shaking. He was scared. I have no idea what scared him enough for him to run all the way home. He didn't want to go back to the Cranes' house."

"Could the rabbit get out of the carrier on his own?" Det. Mason asked.

"Oh no, it's even hard for me to open. You have to squeeze the bars together. The spring is strong."

Luan made a pinching gesture to demonstrate how to open the carrier door latch.

"Was anyone in that hall when you went back to get your rabbit?" Det. Mason asked.

"Yes, like I said. Some guests at the stairs. I didn't know them. I don't remember saying anything to them."

"Would you recognize them if you saw them again?" Det. Mason asked.

"I don't know. I didn't pay much attention to them."

"Going back to your search with the housekeepers," Det. Paulson said. "Where all did you search specifically?"

"In the bedrooms upstairs, in the rooms down stairs, in the front yard and backyard. In all the bushes and under tables and stage in the backyard."

"In any closets?"

"Yes, but the housekeepers looked in the closets and bushes too, ones I didn't look in."

"Do you remember what closets you specifically looked in?" Paulson asked.

"No, maybe if I went back to the Cranes' house, but not right now."

The detectives looked at each other.

"Maybe we could try that later," Paulson said.

"Did you know the Cranes from outside of the party?" Det. Mason asked.

"Not me, but my sister Lucy is in the same class as their son Ben. She told me when she heard I was performing at his house. I had never met any of them before two days before the party. I was a last minute replacement for the performer they had scheduled. He cancelled. Someone they knew referred me to them."

"Do you know who that was?" Mason asked.

"No, they never said. I've performed for lots of people. Could be anyone."

"Did your sister go to the party? The one that knows their son?" Det. Mason asked.

"No, they aren't friends, just classmates."

"How did the Cranes treat you while you were there?" Det. Paulson asked.

"Well…not very well."

"How so?" Paulson asked.

"They don't like my family. Mrs. Crane said that they take my money because there are so many of us. They don't take any of my money. The money I make is for me. She was making fun of us just 'cuz we aren't like them…not rich."

"So you found Gary, I mean, your brother found Gary and you returned to the Cranes' house," Det. Paulson said. "Tell me what happened next."

"Mr. and Mrs. Crane were upset with me."

"Why's that?" Det. Mason asked.

"Since I had to get Gary I only showed back up a minute or two before I had to do the show. Mr. Crane had to check the sound equipment himself. I didn't ask for any sound equipment. I didn't need it. They were the ones who wanted it. But, I did my show. All the guests and Ben Crane loved it. Even Mr. Crane said he liked it."

"So, it was just Mrs. Crane who didn't like the performance?"

"Yah, I think so. She said it was subpar."

"Did you go home right after the party?" Det. Mason asked.

"Yah, she had me escorted off her yard with my things."

"Did you ever go back to the spare bedroom after the performance?" Det. Mason asked.

"Yah, to change and get all the stuff I had left there."

"After Mrs. Crane paid you?" Det. Paulson asked.

"No, before."

"Did anyone see you go up there that time?" Det. Paulson asked.

"I don't know."

"OK, Miss Loud," Det. Mason said. "You've been very cooperative with us and we appreciate it. But, now I…"

"Detectives," Lynn cut in. "Like you said, she has been cooperative with you, now it's time for you to be cooperative with us. I want to know exactly what the Cranes are saying about my daughter! I tried to call them for two days to discuss the pay short, but no has returned my calls. They could have talked to me or my wife or something besides just accusing my daughter of something she didn't even do! Now, tell me what they were saying to you!"

The detectives shared another glance and Det. Paulson took a deep breath.

"The evening of their son's birthday party, Mrs. Crane discovered that her bracelet, the one that we have already described, was missing from the safe in the closet of their master bedroom. They searched the house, their staff searched the house. It wasn't found. Mrs. Crane had worn the bracelet the evening before the party to a charity event, so she knew that it had to have gone missing sometime during the party."

"OK, there had to be dozens of people at their house," Lynn said. "Anyone of them could have taken it."

"True and we have taken down all the names of guests and catering staff there that day," Det. Paulson said. "We've done some investigating of them as well. But, there are a few things that stand out to the Cranes and to us about your daughter. First, she was alone on the second floor for a long time. Two, she claims her rabbit ran away and while the housekeepers admit they helped her search the house and grounds, they don't actually know if the rabbit was actually missing. Three, she has a motive to want to get back at the Cranes, they shorted her on her pay for what she felt is a bogus reason. Finally, she knows how to pick a lock, she demonstrated her ability on stage in front of dozens of people."

"Yah, I know how to pick a lock," Luan said. "But what has that got to do with the bracelet?"

"The Cranes admit that their bedroom and closet were not locked, but their safe is locked with a key," Det. Mason said. "It can be picked open. Our forensics officer examined the lock and there are fresh scratches around the key hole and when he took it apart, there was slight damage to the lock's innards that were new and wouldn't be caused by a key made to fit that lock."

Silence fell over the room. Luan sat stone faced in her chair. Lynn was starting to feel overheated. It all felt so wrong. Wrongness surrounded them. The room was wrong. The table and its mismatched chairs were wrong. Lynn felt like nothing could be right again.

"I didn't do it," Luan cried, tears flowing down her face. "A-all this is just cirdum…cirum…"

"Circumstantial, honey," Lynn said. "And your right all this is just circumstantial."

"Circumstantial evidence often points to the truth," Det. Paulson said. "Luan had the means, motive and opportunity to steal the bracelet."

"I'm sure the Cranes have made actual enemies throughout the years," Lynn said. "Any of them could have snuck in and stolen the bracelet while everyone was outside watching Luan. You should be investigating the Cranes' connections, not Luan. I think I want my attorney now."


	5. Search and Seizure

Rita Loud had corralled her eight remaining children by the large tree in the front yard. Lori was away at golf practice. Luna was practicing with her band at the home of one of the other members. After Luan had been taken to the police station the other kids had wanted to cancel whatever plans they had going on for that day, but she had insisted they go about their daily routine, thinking it would keep their minds off what was happening to Luan. Lori and Luna were the only ones with plans that afternoon though.

The police had been searching the Loud's house for an hour now. They had not discussed anything they had discovered or thought they had discovered with Rita. At the start of the search, Rita had stood in the living room to watch, but they had not permitted her to go into the other rooms and would not answer any of her questions, just referring her to the search warrant she held in her hands. She had decided to join her kids around the tree to keep them calm and in one spot.

The kids had bombarded her with questions about what was going on in the house. They were all aware of why the police were there, Rita had explained the situation to them. She really couldn't say more than the police were searching all the rooms, she didn't know more than that. She didn't know exactly what they were looking for, other than possibly the bracelet.

With Lily sitting on her lap, Rita and the seven other kids sat shoulder-to-shoulder, backs against the tree. Rita had positioned herself so she could watch the front door. Lisa sat to her left, Lincoln to her right. Lucy sat next to Lincoln. The eleven and eight-year-olds were squished together watching the house closely.

"This is such bull-!" Lincoln started to say, loudly.

"Lincoln, language!" Rita exclaimed.

"Well it is," he said, falling silent again.

"We have to do something to help Luan," Lincoln whispered to Lucy.

"But what can we do?" she replied. "They won't let us in the house."

"You can get in there unseen," Lincoln said quietly, looking to make sure his mother wasn't listening. "You sneak in and out without being seen all the time."

"Mom might notice that I am gone."

"I'll cover for you."

"Fine, this could be fun," Lucy said, smirking

* * *

Lucy peaked down from the second floor hallway air vent at the police. There were two uniformed officers on the first floor and two uniformed officers plus a female detective in plain clothes on the second floor. The detective was standing in the hallway at the top of the stair, talking on a cell phone. It sounded to Lucy that she was talking to her boss. The other two officers were in Luna and Luan's room and Lisa and Lily's rooms, one in each.

The Gothic girl crept silently to the air vent in Luna and Luan's room. The officer there was going through Luan's chest where she kept her Funny Business equipment. He had most of the items laid out on the floor separately. The girls' closet was open. All the clothes were still hung up, but anything that had been on the floor, such as shoes, or anything that had been on the shelf above the clothes had been taken out of the closet and laid out on the floor like Luan's business supplies.

Lucy noticed that there was a small pile of nylon bags on Luan's bureau. They all appeared to be empty, but on the floor by the door, there were a few bags lined up. They had been sealed up with red tape and she could see that there were items inside the bags, but she couldn't tell what they were. Her attention was drawn by the female detective entering the room, having finished her phone call.

"Mr. Loud has lawyered up," she said. "Jim said that they got through most of the interrogation before the father asked for one."

"I'm nearly done with this room, Detective," the officer said. "No sign of the bracelet. Found two lock picking kits in here in addition to the one found in the older girls' room and the one found in the goth kid's room."

"Dang it," Lucy thought. "That set cost me four months' allowance."

"Also found a dozen sets of cloth gloves, most are white, but there are some black ones, red, ones purple ones," the officer continued. "There is also a single white, left hand glove. I have yet to find its mate. It was under the bureau here."

"The lock pick sets are in these bags?" the detective asked.

"Yes, one in each. I also found a set of antique skeleton keys. They were in the goth girl's room."

"Dang it," Lucy thought, again. "I've spent a lot of time collecting those."

"Skeleton keys?" the detective repeated, picking up the bag that contained them. "They wouldn't fit in that safe lock."

"I realize that, but the search warrant called for anything that could open locks without the lock's specific key."

"It's a long shot with these."

"True, but we can return them later," the officer said, finishing laying out the items from Luan's chest. "Better to have them and not need them than the other way around."

The second uniformed officer from the second floor walked into the room at that moment.

"Det. Amos, I've finished with that room," he said, shaking his head. "To be honest, I think we need to call the bomb squad."

"Why do you say that?" Det. Amos asked, looking alarmed.

"There is a very advanced chemistry set in that room. There are chemicals in beakers all over the place. I don't know what any of it is, but it could be dangerous."

"Very well, let's clear the building."

She grabbed the bagged gloves, keys and lock picks and the three of them headed out of the room and down the stairs, shouting at the other officers to vacate the house as well.

Lucy quickly made her way out of the air ducts and joined her family out by the tree. She jogged up to Lincoln and stood next to him as Det. Amos confronted Rita.

"Mrs. Loud, one of my officers has informed me that there are some potentially dangerous chemicals in one of your upstairs bedrooms along with an advanced chemistry set. Care to explain that? I've already instructed him to call the state police's bomb squad."

"Oh, that is mine," Lisa said, stepping forward, adjusting her glasses on her nose. "I can assure you, there are no volatile chemicals in the house at this time."

"At this time?" Det. Amos exclaimed. "Mrs. Loud you allow your children to have volatile chemicals?"

"Well, I don't necessarily encourage her having dangerous chemicals, Lisa has a PhD and is a Nobel Laureate. She knows the proper procedure for handling these chemicals. I do encourage her to explore and expand her mind, as I do with all my children."

Det. Amos opened and closed her mouth like a fish, no sound coming forth for several moments. When she finally found her voice she said,

"How old is this child?"

"I am four years of age," Lisa responded.

"I saw her degrees on the wall," the officer who had searched her room spoke up.

Det. Amos looked at Lisa in complete disbelief.

"That's-that's-that's absolutely amazing," Det. Amos said.

Lisa smiled with pleasure.

"Why, thank you," she said.

Det. Amos cleared her throat.

"Well, anyways, I'm still going to have the bomb squad check everything out. Better safe than sorry," she paused. "Now, I remember where I've heard of this street. I know that there have been some explosions reported on this street."

"Yes, a few of my experiments got out of hand," Lisa said, a hint of guilt in her voice. "They weren't in vain though, I was able to adjust my calculations and have never made the same mistake twice on a single experiment."

"Glad to hear it," Det. Amos muttered.

The bomb squad showed up about fifteen minute later and Rita and the Loud kids watched in fascination as a half dozen men and women filed out of an armored van. They were all wearing body armor and round helmets with clear plastic face guards. One of the officers opened a hatch on the side of the van and pulled out two heavy and thick body suits.

"Hah, Luna and Lori are gonna be sorry they missed this!" Lana shouted, excitedly.

"Yah, too bad the popcorn is in the house!" Lynn Jr exclaimed. "This is better than the movies!"

Once the two officers had put on the puffy armor they entered the house, talking back and forth the rest of the bomb squad on ear mounted mouth pieces.

Lincoln took Lucy to the side.

"What did you find out?" he whispered.

"They took all the lock picks, mine, Luan's and Leni's, and my collection of antique skeleton keys. They also have all of Luan's gloves they could find. Said they couldn't find a right glove though. Don't know what that means."

"Oh that is interesting."

Lincoln and Lucy jumped at the sound of their mother's voice from immediately behind them. They turned to face her, a guilty look on Lincoln's face. Lucy was wearing her usual blank slate expression, unreadable.

"Yah, I noticed your little whispering session at the tree," Rita said, crossing her arms. "I also noticed that you disappeared, Lucy. I figured you were going to get information from the house. I know my children well."

"Sorry?" Lincoln offered her.

"I know you aren't, and don't worry, I am not mad at you. I wanted to know what they were up to as well," Rita took a deep breath. "We'll just have to see how this plays out."

"I also heard Det. Amos say that dad has asked for an attorney."

"Things are probably not going well at the station then," Rita sighed. "I just can't fathom why anyone would consider Luan as a suspect. The stupid bracelet probably just fell behind a bureau at the Cranes' house. Or, how about the housekeepers? They would know where the bracelet was kept."

Rita walked over to the detective.

"Det. Amos, now that we have some time on our hands, I would like some answers to my questions," Rita said. "I won't take no for an answer. You people come in and disrupt our lives, accuse my fourteen year old daughter of a nasty crime and say nothing to me other than 'read the warrant.' This piece of paper isn't giving me the answers I need," she waggled the papers in the detective's face as she spoke that sentence, "I deserve and my children deserve an explanation!"

"Very well, if you will take a step back, Mrs. Loud," Det. Amos said. "I will try to answer your questions."

Rita complied, and took two steps back.

"What would you like to know, Mrs. Loud?"

"Why do they think Luan stole the bracelet?"

"Luan is capable of picking locks, as demonstrated in her magic act from the party," the detective began. "I don't know of many people, let alone kids who can do that…"

"I can," Leni piped up, thoughtlessly. "I taught Luan and Lucy to do it."

Rita shot her daughter a dark look.

"Ok then, anyways," Det. Amos continued. "The bracelet was kept in a safe opened with a key. The lock to the safe showed signs of being picked open. Your daughter was alone on the second floor for some time before and after the party. She instigated a search of the house and property, stated it was for her missing rabbit, but no one can verify if that is true…"

"I can," Lincoln interrupted. "I found Gary by the garbage cans. He was terrified of something."

"Also, Luan has motive. The Cranes didn't pay her her full fee."

"What about fingerprints on the safe?" Rita asked. "Surely, there would be some."

"The safe was dusted for prints," Det. Amos said. "No prints not belonging to the adult Cranes were found, but your daughter was seen wearing gloves, white gloves during her act. The absence of her fingerprints do not clear her in this case."

Rita shook her head and gave an exasperated sigh.

"You just don't understand. Luan simply wouldn't do that. No matter what the Cranes did to her, she…would…not…do that!"

"I wish I could take your word for it, Mrs. Loud, but I can't. Luan is a viable suspect at this time. If she is innocent, I'm sure we will be able to prove that."

"Prove her innocence?" Rita scoffed. "Isn't it, prove her guilt?"

"You know what I mean, Mrs. Loud."

Rita and Det. Amos increasingly heated exchange was interrupted by the reemergence of the two bomb squad technicians that had entered the house.

"All clear," one of them called out. "We've cleared out all the chemicals. They weren't dangerous, but there's no need for them to be in a child's room."

"Tch, there does a week of hard work," Lisa grumbled from somewhere behind Rita.

The bomb squad left and Det. Amos and her officers resumed their search. They had been close to finishing when the officer had warned the detective about the chemicals. Lucy watched them from the vents, but didn't learn anything new or useful to her and her family.

The sun was just about to be swallowed by the horizon and he officers and Det. Amos were getting into their vehicles to leave, lock pick sets, keys and gloves with them, as another patrol vehicle pulled up. The officer driving was not known to the Loud family. He got out of the car and opened the back, passenger side door. Lynn Sr. and Luan stepped out. Their family immediately swarmed them, hugging them and peppering them with questions.

Luan remained silent, but accepted hugs from her siblings before finally latching onto her mother, who held her tightly to her chest. Lynn Sr. would only say that Luan had been cited and released, but couldn't leave town. She was still being charged with the theft. Lynn was appalled by what went on at the house while he was gone.

No one felt like cooking, so they ordered pizza. Once the food had arrived and slices had been handed out to everyone, no one touched their food. After staring at their food for a half an hour everyone just went to their respective beds. No one felt like eating or even talking about the events of the day. They were all just too tired. Lori and Luna had missed the search of the house and bomb squad, but even they felt muted and in shock. They admitted that they had not been able to concentrate at their activities.

* * *

Lincoln had been lying in his bed for around two hours, unable to fall asleep. His attention was caught by some rustling coming from the door to his closet bedroom. He rolled over to see what the noise was. It was Lucy. She was quietly closing the door behind her.

"What's the matter, Lucy?"

"I think we should work together again. I think Luan needs our help to find out what happened."

Lincoln thought for a moment.

"Like we did on the Princess Pony case?"

"Yes."

"But remember, you were the perpetrator on that case."

Lucy's face remained unreadable, but her tone of voice signaled that she was slightly offended by Lincoln's comment.

"It won't be like that. I didn't steal the bracelet and neither did Luan."

Lincoln smiled slightly.

"I think it's a good idea. We'll start the investigation tomorrow."


	6. Q & A

In the garage, Lincoln and Lucy sat across from each other at the table Lincoln had constructed from a box of Christmas decorations and a piece of plywood. In front of Lucy lay a spiral notebook, a pencil in her hand was poised over a blank page. They were writing down all the facts they had about the case.

The pair had interviewed Luan and their father already, writing down all that had happened at the birthday party and what they had learned and talked about during the interrogation at the police station. Once Lucy had that all written down in the notebook, they out had listed out all their suspects.

They didn't have many. After arguing for a few minutes about adding Luan to the list of suspects, they finally had list of the two housekeepers, Ben Crane, Mr. and Mrs. Crane, 'a party guest,' 'a caterer,' a neighbor, a stranger, and finally Luan. They decided to list their sister so as to compare her to the others on the list as they found out more information about them. The siblings realized that they really didn't have much to go on, but they knew that Luan did not steal the bracelet.

After they were done with the suspect list, Lincoln and Lucy brainstormed a number of questions to ask their suspects and witnesses, excluding Luan who they'd already interviewed. Both of them hoped that through talking to the suspects they had identified so far, the Cranes and housekeepers for example, they could get the names of their other suspects, such as caterers and party guests.

"Ok, I think we have enough to start the investigation," Lincoln said, standing up from the old, wood milk crate he was using as a chair. "Let's go get changed."

"Why do we have to change?" Lucy asked, following her brother out of the garage.

"If we are going out as investigators of this crime, we should look the part," Lincoln told her. "Put on something nice. Something that will make you look professional."

Lucy scowled.

"You mean like one of those detectives? I don't know if I have anything like that."

* * *

Lincoln was the first of the detective duo to emerge from his or her room. He stood, framed in the doorway, tugging at the sleeves of his grey, pinstripe suit jacket.

"Oh yah, smooth!" he announced to anyone in earshot.

He walked over to Lucy and Lynn's room. The door was closed, so he knocked on the door. Lucy pulled it open. She was wearing her regular clothes.

"Why haven't you changed?" Lincoln asked.

"I really don't think it is necessary. Plus, I don't have anything as nice as your suit."

Lincoln pointed at Lori and Leni's room where gales of laughter were emanating loudly through the open doorway.

"Leni has her sewing friends over," he said. "They can whip you up something very quickly."

"I don't…"

Lincoln grabbed her by the hand and pulled her towards Leni's room.

"Come on, it won't take them long."

Leni and two of her friends were sitting on the end of her bed, a fashion magazine held between them. There were swatches of fabric laid out all around the room. Leni's sewing machine was powered on. The three girls looked up from the magazine as Lincoln and Lucy entered the room. They all smiled at the pair.

"Oh, your brother is so adorable, Leni!" the brunette whose name Lincoln knew to be Lyra Douglas squealed. "I love your little suit, Lincoln. What's the occasion?"

"We need to look professional when we go out on our investigation," Lincoln said.

"Investigation?" Lyra repeated.

"Yah, didn't you hear?" Leni's other friend, a blond named Amanda Roth, spoke up. "Luan was accused of stealing a diamond bracelet from that snooty Crane family. She was even arrested and taken to the police station and interrogated."

Lyra's eyes grew large and her mouth dropped open.

"No, I hadn't. I've been really busy lately. When did this happen?"

"She was arrested yesterday, the bracelet was stolen on Sunday," Lincoln said. "We are going to prove that Luan is innocent."

"Well good for you!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Leni, we came to ask you a favor actually," Lincoln said, changing the subject.

"A favor? Like what?"

"Lucy needs something nice to wear, something professional, but quick."

"Something black," Lucy put in.

Leni sprung up from her bed and pulled her podium out of her closet. She directed Lucy to stand on it and quickly took her measurements. Over the next two hours scissors and needles flew as Leni and her two friends assembled an outfit for Lucy.

Lincoln clapped and Leni, Lyra and Amanda hugged each other as Lucy emerged from her bedroom, dressed in the outfit that the girls had made for her. It was a two piece suit, black jacket, trimmed along the lapels and wrists with black lace, knee length skirt, trimmed around the bottom with the same lace. Lucy wore a black and white striped shirt under the jacket, black shoes and black lace tights.

"I actually really like this," she said. "Thank you."

"Oh you're welcome," Leni said. "I just cut down one of my old suits."

* * *

The duo left Leni and her friends and headed straight for the Cranes' house. Lucy clutched the notebook tightly in both hands as they walked along. The skin on her face appeared even paler than normal. Lincoln noticed her discomfort.

"Are you OK, Lucy?"

"Yeah, I'm just nervous about talking to Mr. and Mrs. Crane."

"Why's that?"

"You heard how they treated Luan when they didn't like her performance. They are accusing Luan of something she didn't do. Maybe even framing her for it. How do you think they are going to treat us?"

"We don't know if they are framing her. They may think she actually did it. Dad also said that the police looked at other people for the theft too."

"I just don't think we will be well received," Lucy said, gripping the notebook tighter.

Lincoln took hold of her nearest hand and squeezed it.

"It will be Ok, you'll see. We are just going to be asking a few simple questions."

Lincoln rang the doorbell as soon as they reached the Crane's front door. A middle-aged, Hispanic woman answered the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked, giving the two kids a funny look.

"Hello, my name is Lincoln Loud and this is my sister Lucy Loud. Luan is our big sister. We are here…"

A panicked look came over the woman's face and she shook her head, trying to close the door.

"I'm sorry, I don't want any trouble."

Lincoln put his arm through the doorway, blocking it from closing.

"We just want to ask a few questions," he said. "We aren't here to cause trouble. Our sister is innocent, we're just trying to find the bracelet and whoever took it."

The woman took deep breath and pulled the door back open again.

"OK, I'll talk to you, but the Cranes aren't here. They wouldn't let me let you inside. I'll talk to you out here."

She stepped out onto the front step and began to shut the door, but stopped.

"My coworker is also here," she said. "She also met your sister on the day of the party. Do you want to talk to her too?"

"Yes, please," Lincoln nodded.

The woman turned back through the open door, shouting towards the back of the house.

"Karen, could you come to the front door please? I have some people here that want to talk to you!"

There was some shuffling from the back of the house and then a voice. The kids listened as a pair of rubber-soled shoes sounded on a hardwood floor as someone hurried towards them. A young blond-haired, green-eyed woman joined them, looking curiously at the two kids. Once she got a full view of them, her face broke out into a smile.

"Oh my god, they are so adorable!" she said. "I can't wait to dress my four-month-old up in little suits like that. Where'd you get those suits?"

"I don't know where my suit came from," Lincoln said. "Lucy's suit was made by one of our sisters and her friends."

"You'll so have to refer me to your sister," Karen exclaimed. "But, what do you need to talk to me about?"

Lincoln explained who they were and why they were there.

"Would you be willing to answer some questions?" he asked.

"I would," Karen said. "I didn't think that Luan took the bracelet, but I had to be truthful with the police. They asked me about what happened that day and I answered them."

"It's Ok," Lincoln said. "I'm sure you did the right thing."

"I will also talk to you," the older housekeeper said.

"First off, can we get your names?" Lucy asked, pencil poised over a notebook page.

"I am Karen Walters."

"I am Celia Maldonado."

"How long have you two been working for the Cranes?" Lucy asked.

"I've been here just over three years," Karen said. "Minus three months I was on maternity leave. The Cranes actually treat us very well, we're lucky for housekeepers. I got three months paid maternity leave and we get some medical and dental benefits, two days of paid sick leave a month and a week of paid vacation a year. That's more than most housekeepers can hope for."

"I've been with the family for nearly ten years," Celia said. "While they do expect perfection for their dollar, they have been generally good employers to me."

Lucy wrote quickly in her notebook.

"What did the two of you do that day?" she asked.

Celia and Karen explained that in the morning they set up for the party and made sure the house was clean. They assisted the party supply company set up the stage, sound equipment and bouncy castle and then they helped the caterers set up their tables and food. Celia had helped Ben Crane tie his tie and got a spot out of his jacket before the guests arrived. Then they went into the search for Gary with Luan. They had scoured the entire house and grounds, but they didn't see the rabbit until Luan was on stage. Karen said that she had seen the adult Cranes confront Luan when she returned to the house moments before her performance.

"Mr. Crane was really unhappy about having to do the final tests of the sound equipment," Karen said. "He had been really looking forward to talking to some of the party guests. Having to work on the equipment prevented him from doing that."

"Is there anything specific about the search you remember?" Lincoln asked.

Both women shook their heads.

"The whole day was so hectic," Karen said. "There were so many people and kids there, most of them I didn't know and I doubt I'd recognize if I saw them again, which I'm sure you'll be asking about later. All the faces just seem to run together in my mind."

"It is the same for me," Celia said.

"What did you think of Luan?" Lucy asked.

"Her performance was amazing!" Karen exclaimed. "And she seemed like a really sweet girl, funny too. I got a kick out of her puns."

"I thought she was a sweetie too," Celia agreed. "I am conflicted on her being the one who took the bracelet. It is not in the house though, that is for sure. We tore the house apart looking for it. We even ran a little camera down the air ducts. It is not in the house or on the grounds."

"Did you see anything or anyone who was suspicious at the party or anytime really?" Lincoln asked.

Both women remained silent for a moment.

"I haven't seen anything, but the next door neighbor," Celia pointed to the house right next to the Cranes' house, "Mrs. Leery told me last week, told the Cranes too, that there was some kid hanging around outside our windows."

Lucy wrote down the neighbor's name.

"Only the Cranes would know if there was someone at the party who wasn't supposed to be there," Karen said. "I never saw a guest list, did you Celia?"

"I never did. Mrs. Crane handled all of the planning."

"What was the name of the caterer?" Lucy asked.

"Tony's Deli did the catering," Celia said. "They are located on the corner of Maple and Main Street. Mrs. Crane uses their services a lot. They have really good food."

"Do you know of anyone who might have a grudge against the Cranes?" Lincoln asked.

The women thought for a while.

"No one that I know of specifically or by name," Celia said. "At least not anymore. You can't go through life without making a few enemies or maybe just people who end up not liking you. Mr. Crane is a tough business man, so he could have people holding grudges against him, but I wouldn't know."

"I wouldn't know either," Karen said.

"A few days ago my parents tried talking to the two of you," Lincoln said. "You didn't want to talk to them. Why was that?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Crane told us not to talk to you," Celia said. "I'm talking to you now because I don't think that Luan took the bracelet. Things have been weird around here for the past few months."

"What do you mean weird?" Lucy asked.

"I've been around more lately," Celia began, "So I have noticed it. Mr. and Mrs. Crane have been fighting a lot for the past few months. They only ever do it behind closed doors, so I don't know what it is about. It's been getting worse and worse."

"Just one last question," Lincoln said. "Do you think the Cranes would get rid of the bracelet on their own, you know, to get the insurance money?"

Both housekeepers gave Lincoln a dark look.

"Never, especially with that bracelet," Celia said. "Mrs. Crane loves that bracelet."

"I agree with Celia," Karen said. "She would never let go of that bracelet willingly."

The housekeepers told the kids that they had to return to their work. Lincoln and Lucy thanked them for letting them interview them. Lucy was about to start walking towards the sidewalk when she spotted a surveillance camera pointed them from above the door. She pointed to it.

"Have the Cranes checked their surveillance footage for the person who stole the bracelet?" she asked.

"They just had that one and a few more installed yesterday," Celia said. "They never had them before, but the theft has really made them paranoid."

The siblings thanked the housekeepers again and walked down the front path to the sidewalk. The pair stood by the road in front of the house as they went over the notes Lucy had made in the notebook. Neither of them noticed anyone approaching.

"Hi, spooky girl," came a voice to their right.

They turned to see a grinning Ben Crane standing on the sidewalk a few feet from them. He had a leather satchel slung over a shoulder.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked. "I know you are some of the Loud kids."

"We are investigating the theft of the bracelet," Lucy said. "And don't call me spooky."

"Oh, sorry," Ben said. "I think the spooky look is cool. You look cool."

Lucy's face became a light shade of pink.

"My mom is the one who didn't like Luan's performance," he said. "I had a great time. I wish she could come back for my next birthday, but I don't think my mom would allow it."

"Do you think she took the bracelet?" Lincoln asked.

"My parents think she did…I don't know. What will happen to her?"

"We're trying to prove her innocence so nothing will happen to her," Lucy said.

"I hope you can."

"Do you mind answering some questions?" Lincoln asked.

"Sure, but I don't think I know much of anything."

Lucy opened her notebook.

"What did you do the day of the party?"

"I got up, took a shower, ate some cereal and watched TV for a little while. My mom was busy around the house with the caterers and Celia and Karen. I don't know what my dad was doing. Then my mom told me to get ready, so I put my suit on that she made me wear and Celia helped me with my tie. They should've just bought me a clip on tie. How do they expect a kid to tie one? Then my friends and cousins started showing up and I played with them until Luan's show. I got to participate in the show. Then we ate and had cake. I opened my presents. Everyone went home by like 4 p.m. After that we went out to dinner and then a movie and then I went to bed."

"Was there anyone at the party that you didn't know?" Lucy asked.

"The caterers, some of the adults."

"Did you see anything suspicious?" Lincoln asked.

"No, not that I can think of."

"Did you know where the bracelet was kept?" Lincoln asked.

"Yah, in the safe in my parents' closet."

"Do you know of anyone who might want to steal the bracelet?" Lucy asked.

"Mrs. Leery says that there was some weirdo hanging around the house the other day, so maybe that person? I don't know."

"Your housekeepers said your parents have been arguing a lot lately," Lucy said. "Do you know why?"

Ben looked at the ground.

"No, they never tell me anything. They only ever fight in their room when they think I'm not around. They are so loud that I could be outside and still hear them. Do you think they are going to get a divorce?"

"I wouldn't know the signs," Lincoln said, shrugging.

"Maybe they should," Ben said. "It would a lot quieter."

"What do you think happened with the bracelet?" Lucy asked.

"I think my dad got rid of it."

Lucy and Lincoln were surprised by his answer.

"It's insured, so it's no big loss. I think he is trying to get back at my mom for something. He's the one who does most of the yelling, so I think he's mad at her."

Lucy wrote in her notebook quickly.

"Thank you for your time Ben," she said. "If you think of something, you can find us at our house."

The siblings began to walk to the neighbor, Mrs. Leery's house. Ben called after them.

"I'm sorry I didn't invite you to the party."

"That's OK," Lucy shrugged. "Parties aren't my thing."

Lincoln rang the doorbell to the neighbor's house. An elderly woman answered the door. She cooed over the pair in their suits. Lincoln explained why they were there.

"Yes," said Mrs. Leery. "I saw that girl every evening for a week by the Cranes' house or walking down the sidewalk."

"How do you know it was a girl?" Lucy asked.

"She had the hood of her sweatshirt up, but her hair came out of the front of it. It was brown and shoulder length I'd say. She also had a bust, clearly a young woman."

"Did you see her face?" Lincoln asked.

"No, she always kept it concealed by the hood. I warned the Cranes about her several times, but they clearly didn't listen to me."

"When was the last time you saw her?" Lincoln asked.

"The day before…no two days, I think, before their son's birthday party. It has been a few days since I saw her."

"She wore a sweatshirt," Lucy said. "What color was it and what about her other clothes?"

"The sweatshirt was grey, always wore pants…I don't recall anything else about her clothes."

"Could you tell how tall she was?" Lucy asked.

"On the shorter side, but I really couldn't say."

"OK, thank you for your time, Mrs. Leery," Lincoln said.

Lincoln and Lucy decided to head back to the house. As they were walking in front of the Crane residence, the front door flew open and Mrs. Crane came charging out of it towards them. Her face was red with rage.

"How dare you Louds come to my house!" she shrieked. "Your family has stolen from us and now you two are here to harass my employees and my son?"

"We were just asking them some questions," Lincoln said quietly, unsure of how to handle the enraged woman.

Mrs. Crane zeroed in on him and poked a finger in his face.

"You are a bunch of thieves! That's all you are, a bunch of useless thieves!"

"Luan is not a thief!" he said.

"She is! She is the only one who could have stolen my bracelet! If I ever see any of your family near my house or near my family, I'll make sure you never see the light of day again!"

She balled up her fists and stomped back into her house, slamming the door behind her. Lincoln and Lucy ran back to their home as fast as they could go. They went straight up to Lincoln's room.

"That woman is insane!" Lincoln exclaimed. "Did you see the look on her face? I thought she was gonna hit me for a moment there."

"Yes, I did. I can see her making a lot of trouble for us. We will need to be careful going forward."


	7. Booking

The following morning, Lucy and Lincoln were seated on either side of their makeshift table in the garage. They were dressed in their detective suits.

"I can't believe we forgot to ask Ben about the party guest list," Lincoln said.

"Well, we can't go back to his house," Lucy replied. "His mom would freak. So, what's our next move?"

"We have to find out who that girl is."

"She is most likely the culprit," Lucy nodded. "Or an accomplice or a witness."

"Probably not a witness. Why would she just be standing outside the house?"

"You're right, I'm sure."

"You two are totes adorable!"

Lincoln and Lucy turned to see Leni, Lyra and Amanda enter the garage through the open bay door.

"I think we did we did an exceptional job on Lucy's outfit," Amanda said. "What are you to going to do today? Did you find any leads?"

Lincoln told the three girls that a strange girl or woman had been seen several times hanging around the Crane house.

"Oh, did they see what she looked like?" Lyra spoke up, loudly.

"Just that she had brown, possibly shoulder length hair and was on the shorter side," Lucy said. "She was wearing a grey hoodie, so the witness couldn't see much."

"So you really have nothing to go on," Lyra pointed out.

"Pretty much," Lucy said, glumly.

"Leni, how easy is it to pick a lock?" Lincoln asked.

"Depends on the lock," Leni said. "All locks are different. Older locks tend to be easier as long as they aren't all rusted inside."

"Who did you learn to pick locks from?" he asked.

"Uncle Luke, when I was seven, I think."

"Besides Luan and Lucy, have you taught others to pick locks?" Lincoln asked.

"I've taught all my friends, Amanda, Lyra, Kelsey, Jake, Vickie…"

"I get the point," Lincoln interrupted. "You've taught this skill to a lot of people."

"Yes, I did."

"So it's an easy skill to…"

The five kids' attention was turned to the street by the sounds of vehicles stopping and car doors opening and closing. In a matter of seconds, two patrol cars, an SUV and a sedan had filled up the street parking directly in front of the Loud house. Leni, Amanda, Lyra, Lincoln and Lucy hurried from the garage to join Lori and Luna in the front yard. Lori was instructing Lola to call their parents who were both at work.

Two uniformed officers, one being Ofc. Mitchell, Detectives Paulson and Amos and Juvenile Probation Officer Olivia Munson approached the house, but were blocked by the Loud children, Amanda and Lyra. The only Loud children not present were Lola, who was on the phone, and Luan who had rarely left her room for the past few days.

"Are your parents here?" Det. Amos asked.

Lori, being the eldest, elected herself speaker for the group and stepped forward.

"They are at work. I literally just sent one of my sisters to call them."

"Very good," Amos said. "We need to speak with them."

"Why?" Lori said. "You can tell us. We may be young, but we're not stupid…yah, we're not stupid."

Lori's gaze had briefly shifted to Leni, who was smiling blankly at the police as she spoke.

"It would still be better if we waited for your parents," Det. Paulson said. "So we don't have to explain things multiple times."

"Hey."

"EEP!"

Lori jumped in surprise at the voice coming from her immediate right.

"I found this poking up from his back pocket," Lucy said, holding out a folded bundle of papers.

Somehow, without anyone in the group noticing, Lucy had snuck over to the detective and back to her siblings with the papers.

"Give those back!" Paulson exclaimed.

The kids formed a human barrier between the cops and Lori as she opened the papers to look though them.

"These are an arrest warrant for Luan and a search warrant for the house."

There were multiple cries of outrage from the Loud children.

"You just searched the house the other day!" Luna exclaimed. "What do you think you will find that wasn't here before?"

"Yah, and Luan has already been arrested," Lori said. "Why would you do it again?"

"We won't let you arrest her!" Lana cried, opening a cage no one had noticed her having prior.

Lori lunged forward in alarm, but was too late to stop what followed from occurring. Out of the cage sprung a skunk!

"Get 'em, Lil' Stinks!"

The skunk made a hissing sound and ran at the cops and Olivia Munson. Everyone except Lana, including the Loud children, scattered at the sight of the pungent animal. The kids all ran onto the porch and the police and Munson crowded into the SUV. Lana stood on the front walkway laughing as her skunk walked circles around the SUV.

It was at that moment that Lynn Sr. pulled into the driveway in Vanzilla. He had already spotted the skunk, so he made no move to exit the vehicle, instead he cracked the window.

"Lana, you get that skunk out of here right now!"

"Oh come one dad, they want to take Luan again!"

"I'll deal with that! You just get the skunk out of here!"

"Come on Lil' Stinks, show's over."

The skunk dutifully walked back to Lana and into the cage. Lana picked up the cage and carried it to an unknown location behind the garage. The police emerged out of the SUV like clowns getting out of a clown car and met Lynn in the front yard. Lori handed the papers over to Det. Paulson, mumbling something that sounded like "Sorry sir" to the detective. At least that was Lynn hoped she said.

"I'm sorry for the troubles my children have caused you, detective," Lynn said. "How can I help you?"

"I'm going to choose to just let that all go," Det. Paulson said, unfolding the papers Lori had handed to him. "We have a new warrant for the arrest of your daughter, Luan. This time she will be going to the juvenile facility for booking pending her court appearance."

He handed Lynn one piece of paper. Lynn looked over the warrant. It listed the two charges, Larceny and Burglary and beneath that it noted that Luan was to be held without bail.

"To be held without bail?" he exclaimed. "Isn't that excessive?"

"A judge will set bail or release after reviewing these charges," Det. Paulson said.

"When will that be?"

"Her court date is at the bottom of the warrant. I don't recall what it is off the top of my head."

Lynn read the date. It was set for the following Monday. It was Friday.

"I should note that we have a weekend judge that comes in over the weekend that will most likely take a look at this," Det. Amos assured Lynn. "The two charges are felonies and in many cases, those being charged with new felonies will have to go before a judge so the judge can determine appropriate bail."

Det. Paulson handed the other piece of paper to Lynn.

"This is a warrant to search your house again," he said.

"What has changed? Why are searching my house again?"

"This morning a gardener found a paper lunch bag containing the Crane's stolen bracelet," Det. Paulson stated. "The family had a camera system installed after the theft and it caught someone wearing hoodie sweatshirt stashing a small item where the bracelet was found early this morning."

"What did this person look like?" Lynn asked.

"The individual never showed their face," Det. Paulson said. "All that could be seen was that the person had shoulder length brown hair, on the small side and most likely female. She fits the general description of your daughter Luan."

"And why the search of my house again?"

"Of the fifty-two diamonds that the bracelet contained, ten are still missing," Det. Paulson replied. "We wouldn't be doing our due diligence if we didn't check for them here."

"Do you know how many girls there are out there who are the same shape and size as my daughter?" Lynn exclaimed. "With brown hair? That's not enough to arrest her on!"

"Well, there were fingerprints on the outside of the paper bag," Paulson said. "They match Luan's prints we took when she was brought in to the station."

Lynn didn't reply. He just looked towards the ground in defeat. Luan spoke to no one as she was lead out to the patrol car out in front of the house. Her siblings yelled encouragement to her as she was driven away, but she didn't acknowledge them.

"We're going to need you and your children to stay clear as we perform the search," Det. Amos told Lynn Sr. as soon as the patrol car carrying Luan pulled away.

He nodded and she turned to Olivia Munson.

"Thanks for coming out with us. You can head out now that Luan is no longer here."

"I will, I just wanted to talk to someone first."

Munson walked over to where Leni was standing with Amanda and Lyra. Leni and Amanda seemed to be comforting Lyra who was scrubbing at her puffy eyes.

"I just feel so sad for Luan," Lyra said. "She could never to something like that!"

"Hey there Lyra, I didn't know you knew the Louds," she said.

Lyra didn't smile, but responded politely, "I've been friends with Leni since we were in kindergarten."

Munson pulled Lyra aside to speak with her. What the two of them didn't realize was that Lucy was sitting, unobtrusively behind a bush, within earshot, where she had been watching the police go in and out of her house. People not noticing her happened all the time so she was used to it and often used it to her advantage.

"How are you and the Douglas' doing now that it is all official?"

Lyra brightened a little.

"Oh, really good. Even though I've lived with them for six years, it's a nice feeling to be officially adopted by them."

"Have you heard from your biological grandmother at all?"

Lyra shook her head and a dark look came over her face.

"Before my mom died, she told me about what her mom did to her. I'm glad she stopped contacting me. I quit accepting her calls a year ago. She just made the adoption process take longer. That and the Department of Social and Health Services' bizarre fixation on finding my biological father. I never met him or even learned his name."

"Well, there is always a chance that your mother never told your father about you and he would have wanted you in his life. They had to cover all their bases."

"I know. I just was scared that maybe he would and I wouldn't be able to stay with the Douglas.'"

"I totally understand, Lyra."

The woman and teenager parted and Munson got into her sedan and drove away. Lyra rejoined her two friends. Lucy stayed where she was and mulled over this new piece of information about Lyra in her mind. She and the rest of her family knew of her situation, her mother died when she was ten and was taken in by the Douglas family as their foster child. No father had ever been in the picture. They had known Lyra for years, but this was first Lucy had heard that the adoption was final. She stowed that bit of info away in her mind. Once the police were gone, she would have to talk to her parents about throwing Lyra a party.

* * *

Luan felt the icy claws of fear grip her around the chest as the patrol car pulled up to the juvenile facility's sallyport. The patrolman parked, shut off the vehicle and a minute or two later, opened the back passenger side door for her. She stepped out into the sallyport. The roof was about two stories high and in need of a cleaning. Dirty spiderwebs could be seen rippling in a slight breeze in the corners and against beams and pipes. The concrete floor on the other hand was so clean and shiny that Luan could almost make out her reflection.

"It's like I in some sort of bizarro land," Luan thought. "That squiggly blob on the other side of the polished concrete is the real me watching all this happen."

Luan gulped a mass of panic down. She could still feel it trying to claw its way out. It was a suffocating feeling.

"This way," the officer directed her.

She walked through a large, steel sliding door that opened with a clang into a surprisingly quiet booking room. There were three small holding cells to one side, a counter with computers to the other side, behind the counter was a work space, a door and a bank of windows Luan could not see through. In front of her was a long bench against the wall and another large, steel sliding door. The door was open and she could see a long hallway beyond.

"Over to the counter, miss," called a woman in a uniform similar to the cop who had brought her in, on her belt was only a few pouches and a radio. The mouth piece to the radio was clipped to her simple epaulette. A male corrections officer wearing the same outfit joined her at the counter.

Luan stepped to the counter, automatically moving her legs. She was starting to feel dizzy, like her head was disconnected from her body. It felt like nothing around her was real. She took a deep breath, but wished she hadn't. The after smell of bleach was heavy in the air. There was something else there too, like a backed up sewer.

"This can't be happening," she muttered. Tears were near the surface now.

"Things are quite peaceful here today," the patrolman commented to the female CO as she approached Luan on the booking floor side of the counter.

"Yah, things have been slow here the past few months. You haven't had to bring a kid in here for a while."

"I'm glad. I hate seeing a kid go down this path."

He said the second sentence a little louder than the first. Luan knew that he was saying it like that for her benefit. Not that he needed to. She hadn't gone down 'this path' that he was talking about.

"This is all wrong," she said to the female officer. "I'm innocent."

"I'm not here to judge you or say you did or did not do something. I'm just here to get you processed and make sure that you and I are both safe, OK? I'm gonna need to pat you down, will you cooperate?"

Luan nodded, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"Miss Loud, I know this is all new and I know that it is upsetting, but I need you take a deep breath and try to calm down, OK?" the female CO said, gently. "You're doing great. Deep breaths."

Luan took a few deep breaths and the trembling lessened.

She was directed to remove her shoes and hair tie and to shake her hair out. She was then directed to show the officer the inside of her mouth, under her tongue and between her lips, cheeks and gums. The officer had her stand up straight with her hands on the counter and feet apart as the officer checked her pockets and her clothing for contraband. Of course, nothing was found.

"What size shoe do you wear?" the male officer asked.

"Seven."

"And what size shirt and pants do you wear? In the small, medium, large etcetera range."

"Small probably."

Luan was issued a size seven rubber pair of sandals, a small shirt and small pants. She chose a sports bra and underwear from a set of bins provided to her. She was warned as she entered into a tiny bathroom with a combination sink and toilet that she could not keep her own underwear or bra. They were to be handed over along with the rest of her clothes. She changed quickly. Not letting herself think about how many other girls wore the bra and underwear before her. That thought only made her want to puke. She wouldn't even share her underclothes with her sisters, much less with strangers.

When she stepped back out to booking with her clothes in her arms, all neatly folded, the patrolman was gone. The female officer was sitting at a computer.

"Just put your things on the counter here," the woman pointed.

Luan complied, looking closely at the CO's name tag. Cpl. M. Swanson it said. On her sleeves she had two inverted Vs stacked on one another. Looking at the woman more closely now, Luan realized that she had met the woman before.

"I remember you," she said. "I performed at your son Brendan's birthday party last month as a clown."

"I know. I remembered you when you walked into booking."

Cpl. Swanson didn't look up from her computer screen. She just continued to catalogue Luan's clothes.

"I didn't steal anything from the Cranes."

"Like I said before. I'm not here to judge you."

"It doesn't matter. Even if I go on trial and I'm found innocent, my days as a performer are over. No one will trust me again."

Cpl. Swanson pressed her lips together, but made no comment.

"Can I call my parents?"

"When we are done with the booking process and if I have time, you can use one of the booking phones. Otherwise there are phones in the housing units you will have access to."

"How long does booking take?"

"Not that long. It depends in part on you and if I have to stop to bring in another booking. A half hour is an average time…OK, can I have you stand in front of this computer and face the camera."

She pointed to a device mounted to the ceiling. Luan did as she was asked and turned to her right when asked to.

The officer was true to her word, the booking process only took her a half an hour, and she was offered the chance to use a phone before being housed. After struggling with the phone system for about five minutes, Luan was finally able to speak with her father.

"Hi, sweetie," he said. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm OK. It hasn't been too bad so far. I had to change into a juvie uniform and they asked me a bunch of health questions."

"Health questions?"

"Like if I have any allergies or take any medications. What happened after I left?"

"Oh, they are still here, doing their search. They aren't going to find anything."

"I know. I haven't done anything."

"I believe you, sweetie. We all believe you. Just try to stay strong. Do what the guards say. Keep your head down. As soon as a judge sets bail, we'll see about getting you out of there."

"OK, dad," Luan's voice quavered, she was very near tears.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. We will get you out of there. We will find the truth, Luan."

"I know. I have to go. They are going to take me to my cell."

Luan hung up the phone and, as directed by Cpl. Swanson, she walked through the door opposite from the one she had originally entered into booking through. The officer followed along behind. They took a right after the door and walked through another sliding door. The floor was laid with ugly green and white tile and the walls were cinderblock that had been painted over with a dull, light blue paint. Heavy steel doors, all closed, were spaced periodically along the walls on either side.

"Grab a bin of blankets," Cpl. Swanson said, pointing to a row of bins, stacked three or four high, set against a wall.

Luan picked up the first one she came to.

"You won't see them until you take the blankets out, but there is a spork and cup in there, some soap, toothpaste and shampoo packets, a toothbrush, comb, towel and a booklet with the facilities rules, instructions for phone calls and commissary ordering, all the things you need to know while staying here. I encourage you to read it so that you don't incur any disciplinary infractions."

Luan nodded her understanding as Cpl. Swanson instructed her to continue down the hallway. Above her, Luan could hear the faint buzzing of the fluorescent lights. That, and the sounds of their shoes on the tile floor were the only sounds in the bare hallway. The corporal and Luan stopped as another large, sliding door opened in front of them.

"There's a stack of mattress to your left. Take the one at the top."

Luan had to get up on her tippy toes to reach the one on the very top. The mattress was about six and a half feet long, two and half feet wide and three inches thick. It was just foam padding inside a plastic tarp. It was not going to be very comfortable. The fourteen-year-old could hear voices now, high pitched female voices. They echoed faintly from somewhere nearby.

Cpl. Swanson directed Luan to a final sliding door a few feet down the hall from them and asked for it to be opened via her radio. The door slide open quietly for its size and the female voices very much louder, and now the sound of a blaring TV could be heard. Beyond the door was a large, high ceilinged room. It was far longer than it was wide. There were ten doors lining both right and left walls five on each side, most were swung all the way open, some were only slightly open and a few were closed. There were four steel tables, each with four steel stools attached to them spaced out along the center of the room. A flat screened TV hung high on the wall across the room from the door.

There were seven teenage girls sitting at the tables. Three more were standing at the phones to the immediate right of the door, next to an empty shower stall where a blond girl was using a rag to clean the tile walls. A thick canvas shower curtain was shoved against one side. Two more girls came out of the cells as Luan walked into the housing unit.

"Hey look, it's fresh meat!" one of the girls called mockingly.

There were some giggles in response to her comment and some of the other girls waved and said hello.

Cpl. Swanson directed Luan to a cell on the left at the far end of the unit. The door was already open. Inside the approximately seven by nine foot cell, was a set of steel bunk beds, a steel shelf with a small steel table and stool beneath it. Close to the door was a combination sink and toilet with a mirror above. The bottom bunk was already made up with a mattress and blankets and there were food and papers on the table and shelf.

"This is where you'll stay," Cpl. Swanson said. "Meals are at 5:30 a.m., noon and 5:30 p.m. Mail and requests are picked up at 8 a.m. There will be an officer doing a walk through at least once an hour, so you will need to act as you would if you were out in public, you know fully clothed. Showers are to be conducted between 4:45 a.m. and 6: 30 a.m. You will need to keep your cell clean."

The woman pointed to a button and speaker next to the door.

"This button is the medical emergency button. It is only to be pushed in the event of a medical or safety related emergency."

Cpl. Swanson left Luan to get settled in. The teen heard the large door of the mod close behind the officer. Luan quickly tossed her mattress up on the top bunk and pulled out the sheet and blankets, settling them over it. She quickly climbed onto her bunk with her plastic bin of meager possessions and pulled the blankets over her head. Her only miserable thought as tears started rolling down her face was that her life as she had known it was over.


	8. Released

Luan remained buried under her blankets for some time before anyone else entered the cell, and she didn't move to see who it was when someone finally did come in. There was a slight squeak and then a young female's voice:

"I remember my first time in this hell hole," the voice said. "I was scared shitless. Hid in my cell for days. You couldn't've dragged me out. That's how you feel right now, huh?"

Luan pulled the blankets down from over her head and sat up. One of the girls who had been by the phones was sitting on the stool. She was a tall ginger girl, with a thick smattering of freckles across her face, intermingled with what appeared to Luan to be exceptionally nasty acne. The cell door was closed, but not latched. Luan eyed the door, a wave of uneasiness washing through her. The girl looked from Luan to the door and back.

"It's fine, I just wanted to talk to you in private," the girl said. "You gotta be careful not to latch the door, it locks automatically. You have to push the emergency button to have them open it. They get grumpy about that."

"Are you my roommate?"

"Yep, my name is Sabrina Tooms, but everyone calls me Rina."

"I'm Luan Loud. Those girls are really loud," she said, the din from the dayroom was reverberating off the cell walls.

"Yah, you get used to it by your eighth or ninth stint here."

Rina grinned. Luan noticed that she was missing an upper canine tooth.

"You've been in here nine times?" Luan asked, alarmed.

"No, I was joking. I have been here three times now. Keep trying to pay back my momma for knocking out my tooth I suppose."

"If your mom hurt you, she should be in jail, not you in juvie."

"Hah, got you again!" Rina laughed. "She didn't knock out my tooth. A word of advice for your stay here, be careful about what you share and who you share it with and that goes for everything. Also, don't take these girls' words for things. They like to spin tales and run their mouths."

Luan nodded.

"How many times have you been here?" Luan asked.

"This is my third time here and I do have issues with my mother, that's the truth."

"I'm sorry," Luan said, and she meant it. She couldn't imagine not getting along with her own mother.

Rina tsked and waved a hand through the air.

"No loss really. I do better on my own. Only seem to use when I've been with my mom for a while. Plus, I'm gonna be sentenced Friday and by the time I'm back on the street, I'll be eighteen and won't have to go back to her."

"How old are you now?"

"Nearly seventeen. On Saturday."

"So you'll be here for a whole year?"

"No, I'll be going to the center up state for a while. I'll be finishing up my G.E.D. and I have to do my court ordered drug treatment there. After that I plan on enrolling in job training."

"You do drugs?" Luan asked, she had not initially picked up on what Rina had meant by 'use.' She did now though.

"Yah, along with virtually all the girls in here. Enough about me though. You wanna share?"

"I'm here for a crime I didn't commit."

"Aren't we all?" Rina laughed, but then she frowned, looking Luan hard in the eye. "But if one of us is really innocent, you look like you'd be the one."

"It's true, I didn't stee-"

"No-no-no," Rina put up a hand in a 'stop' motion. "Like I said earlier, be careful about what you tell people. Don't give out details of your crimes. Some girls will try to get time off by testifying against you."

"Oh, OK."

"I meant share about yourself. You have a family?"

"Yah, my mom and dad. I have nine sisters and one brother."

Rina laughed.

"No shit? Then this place isn't too bad for you. You're packed in at home too."

Luan managed a smile and chuckled.

"I guess you're right about that. I'm used to lots of noisy girls around. My sisters aren't always easy to live with either. My sister Luna, who I share a room with, is a musician."

"Wow, what does she play."

"The tuba, violin, harp, drums, but most often the guitar. She favors electric guitars. She can also sing."

"Sounds…loud," Rina giggled at her own pun.

"Yah, it can be really loud in our room. We've gotten into many fights when she plays her music while I'm trying to practice my magic or clown routine."

"You're a magician?"

"Well, not after what has happened that led me to be here…That's over whether I'm guilty or not. No one will trust me again."

"I know how that feels."

"What about your family?"

"What about them?" Rina shrugged. "My mom's a bitch, all she does is drink and tell me I'm worthless. My sister has a different dad who is nice to her. She stays with him. I visit her when I can."

"You couldn't go live with your sister?"

"No, he's not my dad and he has two kids besides my sister to care for."

"You don't seem like the type who'd be in juvie."

"There're all types here."

Rina stood up from the stool and approached the bunk.

"Come, sit with me out in the dayroom. It doesn't look good with the other girls if you are antisocial with them. At least put in an appearance now and again. I'll be right here. Most of the girls here are fine most of the time. There are fights every once in a while, but not as much as TV would have you think. This is the nonviolent offenders' tank anyway. The violent girls are housed upstairs somewhere."

Luan followed Rina out to the dayroom and the pair sat at the table nearest their cell. Most of the other girls came up to Luan and introduced themselves. Some were polite and soft spoken. Some clearly had a wild side to their personality. Luan spent the next few hours getting to know a few of the girls and watching TV. Drug use was prevalent throughout the histories of the girls. Many starting to use drugs and alcohol as early as elementary school. Some had mental health issues and many came from unstable families where drugs were also present. She knew that all these girls had the ability to make their own choices, but she also felt a little sorry for them.

It all made Luan grateful for how wonderful her family was, even if she always had to wear hand-me-downs and they didn't have money for expensive vacations or a van that didn't break down all the time. She never had to wonder where her next meal was coming from, where she was going to stay and her family was always there to support her no matter what. Luan realized that that support was about to be severely tested.

* * *

Luan didn't get much sleep that night, between some of the girls shouting back and forth and the clang of the big slider door when it closed every hour after an officer did an hourly walk through, the housing unit was not a quiet place. The girls who had been loud during the night where not let out with the rest to clean that morning. Rina explained that they were in 'the hole,' the inmates' colloquial term for being on disciplinary lockdown and they would be there for a few days. They would only get an hour out a day to shower, clean and use the phone.

Luan skipped the long line for the shower and washed her face and armpits in her sink. She wished she had some deodorant. Rina said you had to buy that on commissary. Luan had no money, so she would just have to do without.

She helped Rina clean their cell. They scrubbed down the sink and toilet, wiped the table and stool and swept and mopped the floor. Rina showed Luan the way they needed to have their bunks made every morning. She explained that the officers did a detailed head count and inspected their cells twice a day, but the one in the morning was the most thorough and they had to have their cells clean and bunks made.

"Your bunk doesn't have to be military-grade made, but the blankets and sheets need to be tucked in. They will be untucking them and inspecting them when they get here. I know it will be frustrating, but pick your battles. This one ain't worth it. I tried arguing with a guard the first time I was in here about it. Trust me, it just made life harder for me. You can always remake a bunk."

Once they were done with their cell, they helped some other girls clean the day room. They stayed clear of the two girls who were arguing at one end of the room. Rina said that one was suspected of stealing commissary from the other. She thought that the argument would evolve into a fight soon. She and several other girls had started a pool on how much longer it would be.

Breakfast that morning, fruit oatmeal, a large sausage patty, half an apple and milk, was a step up from dinner the night before, a hunk of some version of meat, clearly instant potatoes, squishy green beans, sour applesauce and a fruit juice packet. Luan found herself wishing for the higher quality of public school lunches. Rina told her that somedays were better than others when it came to the food, you just learned to deal with it.

Luan had dozed off at the table she had sat down at with Rina sometime mid-morning. She was startled awake by the sound of someone shouting her name. She shot up from the table and looked around. Rina and another girl at the table pointed her to the male officer standing at the open slider door.

"I'm Luan," she said, approaching the officer.

"The weekend judge set bail on your charges," he said.

He had Luan sign the document to indicate she had been informed of her bail and he handed her a copy of it. He took his leave.

Luan looked over the paper. It had a bunch of typing on it that didn't appear to have anything to do with her. There was a checked off box next to a line that described setting bail. Her bail had been set at $5000 cash or bond.

Rina came up to stand next to her.

"$5000, not too bad."

"I don't have that kind of money."

"You could go through a bondsman. Your family would just need $500 and something for collateral. It's a promise that you will show up for your court appearance on Monday."

"I need to call my family."

Luan went to the one empty phone and followed the instructions for calling collect. It was going to be expensive, but she had no money of her own to use. It took a few minutes to get through the process and when Rita's frantic voice came on the line, Luan was brought to tears by the sound of it. First, she assured her mother that she was alright.

"This is a nightmare!" Rita exclaimed. "This is all wrong, all wrong!"

"Mom, I don't have much time. They sent my bail at $5,000 cash or bond. If you go through a bondsman, it's 500 and collateral."

"What is collateral?"

"I don't know that's what I was told."

"Ok, we'll get this figured out. We'll get you out of there. I hope today. We can get $500 together, no issue."

"Thank you Mom. I'll pay you back the 500 somehow."

"Honey, don't worry about that. Just hang on a little longer."

* * *

Luan ran into the waiting arms of her parents and siblings. They had all come to pick her up at the detention center. She was wearing the clothes she was arrested in and Luan was sure she stunk, but no one appeared to care.

The family ushered her into the van for the thirty minute ride home. Once they were in the van and on their way, all the kids began peppering Luan with questions. Where there lots of fights? What was her cell like? What was the food like? Lynn Sr. shut them down quickly, seeing that the questions were upsetting Luan.

"Hey kids, your questions can wait. Can't you see that Luan is tired?"

They all apologized and quieted down. Lily offered Luan her blanket and Lola offered up her satin pillow she used as extra back cushioning. Luan thanked them tearfully and curled up against the window. She fell asleep shortly thereafter. The family was mostly silent for the remainder of the ride home.

* * *

Dressed in their detective suits, Lincoln and Lucy walked up to Luan's room. They had been home for about an hour. Luan had run inside and upstairs as soon as the van was parked in in the driveway. They could all hear her crying in her room. Luna informed them that she was sobbing into her pillow and refusing to talk to anyone, even their parents.

Upon entering the room, they found Luan pulling her Funny Business equipment from her chest and putting it into cardboard boxes. She appeared to be nearly done.

"Luan, what are you doing?" Lincoln asked.

"I'm giving this stuff away. I won't be needing it anymore."

"Why's that"? he asked.

"Whether I'm guilty or innocent, it won't matter in the realm of public opinion. No one will want me on their property again. So, I won't need my performing equipment anymore."

"Come on, Luan, you are overreacting," Lucy said.

Luan picked up two of the boxes.

"I wish I could be as naïve as you two," Luan said, heading out the door with her two boxes.

Lincoln and Lucy followed her out to the street. Luan set the boxes on the curb. She turned to head back into the house.

"Luan, listen to us," Lincoln pleaded. "We will clear your name. Once that happens, you can go back to performing."

"I already told you, Lincoln, that won't happen. Now, you can either help me or leave me alone. I have three more loads to bring down and I need to find Lana. I am giving Gary to her."

Lincoln and Lucy decided to help Luan bring down her boxes, but once the teenager was gone, they hurriedly carried the boxes back inside and hid all the boxes in the attic. Lucy had a special spot behind a stack of holiday decorations that no one ever went, so Luan's boxes would not be disturbed.

The eleven and eight year olds sat down next to the boxes.

"Luan is crushed," Lucy stated.

"She's probably right about no one trusting her," Lincoln said. "It'll be years before someone trusts her to perform in their home again, even if she is cleared of stealing the bracelet."

"We can't let her go down for that," Lucy said. "We all know she didn't do it."

"I won't rest until we clear her name."


	9. Fraud

Lincoln and Lucy were back at their table in the garage. Before them they had several papers spread out. They had written out a list of suspects and their possible motives in an attempt to get their investigation back up off the ground.

Their list went as follows:

Luan: revenge

Mrs. Crane: insurance

Mr. Crane: insurance

Ben Crane: get back at parents maybe?

Celia: to sell bracelet

Karen: to sell bracelet

Guest: to sell bracelet

Mystery Girl: to sell bracelet maybe?

The two kids felt defeated. Neither knew what to do next.

"Maybe we are going at this case the wrong way," Lucy said. "The suspects who would want to sell the bracelet, what would they do once they have the bracelet?"

"Take it to have it sold," Lincoln answered.

"But if he or she took the whole bracelet, it could be traced," Lucy said. "The theft was in the newspaper."

"So they would pry out the diamonds, just like they did."

"And take them a few at a time to have them sold," Lucy said.

"But where would they take them?" Lincoln asked.

"A jewelers."

"But a jewelers would want to know where the diamonds were from, right?"

Lucy frowned.

"You're right," she said.

"So where else could she take them?"

Both kids sat silently for a few moments deep in thought.

"Hey, remember when dad's great aunt died," Lucy spoke up. "Great Aunt Patricia."

"Yah, why?"

"She left him that ugly, old ring that nobody wanted," Lucy explained. "So he took it to a pawn shop and sold it."

Lincoln's face lit up and he stood from his chair.

"I think you are onto something, Lucy. Come on, we'll look up pawn shops on the computer."

There were two pawn shops in town. Neither one was the shop their father had taken his aunt's ring to. That shop had closed down after the owner died unexpectedly. One was in the downtown portion of Royal Woods and the other was in a seedier area, but the two kids didn't know that.

"We have to go to both of these places and ask them if they bought any diamonds," Lincoln said.

"What if the person took the diamonds to a shop out of town?" Lucy asked.

"We'll deal with that if it comes up."

He knew how to find the shop in downtown, but he wrote out directions to find the other one. They dressed in their detective outfits and set off for downtown.

* * *

The shop downtown, called Weared Wears Pawn Shop, was a large one. There were at least a dozen other people there perusing the aisles. The store was split up into sections, clothing, appliances, housewares and furnishings and there was a sizable jewelry section towards the back. The siblings headed to the long counters where the jewelry was kept. They got the attention of an older woman who was standing behind the counter.

"How can I help you two?" she asked.

"Do you work here often?" Lincoln asked.

"Yes, I'm a jewelry appraiser here."

"We were wondering if you remember anyone coming in with some diamonds to sell?" Lincoln asked. "I don't know how many or what size. Not very big ones."

"Separate diamonds?"

"Yah, it would have been between Monday and Thursday of this week," Lucy said.

The woman pursed her lips and stared hard at the two kids for a few seconds. Finally, the woman went over to a computer.

"I don't remember anyone coming in with separate diamonds during those days."

She typed something into the computer.

"No record of any coming in, even for appraisal in that time frame either. I'm not the only jewelry appraiser here."

"OK, thank you," Lincoln said.

"Why are you asking about diamonds?"

"There was a bracelet stolen and some of the diamonds are still missing, but the bracelet was found," Lincoln said. "Our sister was accused of stealing it. We are trying to clear her name."

"Oh yes, I heard about that. I understand, you think whoever stole it will be trying to sell the diamonds."

The siblings nodded.

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you," she said. "If anyone comes in with diamonds they can't show the origin of, I'll certainly notify the police."

Lincoln and Lucy left the pawn shop feeling slightly defeated again.

"I guess it makes sense that the thief wouldn't come here," Lucy said. "This place is more upstanding than a place someone who wanted to hide something would go."

"Maybe," Lincoln said. "Let's try the other shop."

It took them a half an hour to walk the distance to the other shop. They became nervous as they approached. It was a part of town they had never visited. The street the shop was located on was not as well maintained as the downtown area. There were multiple vacant shops and houses along the street. Weeds poked up here and there through the sidewalk. There were few people around. Just a homeless man standing in the threshold to an empty building and a group of four rough-looking men standing, smoking cigarettes outside a bar.

They hurried into the store without looking at the store's name. There was a sign on the door saying the store was monitored by cameras. The bell on the door jingled as they stepped through and it closed behind them. There was faint rock music coming from a radio sitting on the counter at the back of the shop. Unlike the first pawn shop, this shop's wares were hung up and placed around on shelves in what appeared a more random way.

There was a large, bearded man leaning on the counter. He was the only other person in the shop. He stared at the two kids as they walked up to him, the hint of a smile on his lips. Their presence was clearly amusing to him.

Jewelry lined the shelves inside the glass counter. Rings, bracelets, necklaces, pins and watches of all kinds shined up at Lincoln and Lucy as they gazed at them.

"Let me know if you see somethin' ya like," the man grunted.

"We-we aren't here to buy anything," Lincoln said, meekly.

"To sell?"

"No, we want to ask a couple questions," Lincoln said.

The man scowled darkly. Lincoln and Lucy took a full step back from the counter.

"I won't have my time wasted," he nearly growled. "I don't answer useless questions either."

"We're not here to waste your time or ask useless questions," Lincoln said. "Our sister was accused of a crime she did not commit and we are trying to clear her name."

The man raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"A bracelet was stolen from a wealthy family and our sister was arrested for it," Lincoln said. "We're trying to find out who really did it."

"Are you the jewelry appraiser?" Lucy asked.

"Yah, I'm also the owner here. I remember hearing about the theft."

"Did anyone come in trying to sell individual diamonds between Monday and Thursday of this week?" Lucy asked.

The shop owner said nothing for a moment, his mind obviously in a turmoil.

"I don't usually help the police," he said. "But you two aren't the police and I can commend you trying to help a family member defend themselves against the police. I will do what I can to help the two of you. Yes, I did have one person come in to show me some small diamonds."

"What day?" Lucy asked, opening her notebook.

"Thursday afternoon," he replied. "A teenage girl came in."

"A teenage girl," Lincoln repeated. "Do you get many of those in?"

"Nope, as far as I can remember she has been the only one to come in to pawn anything, let alone diamonds. I almost laughed when you two came in my door. Thought I might have a trend starting in my store. I will say though, her age wasn't the strangest thing about her visit."

"What was?" Lucy asked.

"She brought in five diamonds, if I remember correctly, to sell. I, of course, examined them for their value," he pulled out several eye lenses, "I used these to examine the diamonds, all of them. They weren't diamonds at all. They were made of glass."

Lincoln and Lucy were stunned.

"Glass?" Lincoln exclaimed. "But she told you they were diamonds?"

"Yah, she apparently thought they were. They were good forgeries. She was very upset about it too, said I was lying. I shattered one to prove it to her."

"What did she look like?" Lucy asked.

""Teenage girl, I dunno," he said, shrugging. "Brown hair, white. I have her on camera I'm sure."

He pointed at a camera above their heads.

"Could we see the recording?" Lincoln asked.

"Sure, let me pull it up," he said, putting a laptop on the counter.

"Do you remember if the girl had braces?" Lucy asked.

"No."

"Did the girl say anything when you told her the diamonds were fake?" Lincoln asked.

"She was very upset. She said, 'that piece of shit, that fraud.'"

Who was she talking about? Lincoln wondered. Was 'that fraud' referring to the diamonds? If it was about the diamonds, wouldn't it be 'those frauds?'

"Here's the portion where you can see her," the shop owner said, turning the computer so the kids could see the screen.

Lucy quickly noted the time on the recording, 2:14 p.m. There were two views, one from the door and one from above the counter. Both were in black and white, but the picture quality was fairly good.

In the first camera view, a thin girl walked through the door. She had on a light colored sweatshirt and pants and dark tennis shoes. The hood of the shirt was up. From beneath the hood, the bill of a baseball cap poked out. The bill obscured her face from the camera. After the door closed behind her, she removed the hood to reveal dark, longish hair pulled back into a ponytail. She continued walking until she was out of camera view.

She appeared on the second camera that was positioned over the counter. The bill of her cap still blocked most of her face. She was shown speaking to that shop owner at the counter. Lincoln noted with joy that you could clearly see on the camera that the girl did not have braces, Luan did!

The rest of the recording showed the girl showing the owner the diamonds, him examining them and then breaking one of them. She left the store shortly afterward.

Lucy had been studying the girl closely to see if she could make out anything identifiable. It was then that she spotted something.

"Her hat, she has an emblem on her hat."

"Oh yah, I remember now," the owner said. "It was a Detroit Tigers hat. I'm originally from Detroit and they are my favorite baseball team, so at the time I noted her hat."

"Would you be able to burn us a CD of when she was here?" Lincoln asked. "We could pay you for it. I have some money."

The shop owner scowled again and said nothing for a few minutes. He bent down and pulled a CD from somewhere behind the counter.

"Very well, it will be $12. Two dollars for the CD and ten for my effort. I'll throw in all the questions I answered for free and anymore you'd like to ask for free."

Lincoln and Lucy pooled their cash and were able to come up with the $12. It only took a few minutes to burn the recording to the CD. Lincoln pulled out a picture of Luan from his pocket.

"So the girl that came in was not her?"

The man looked hard at the picture.

"Can't be sure, yes or no. The age about right and the hair color. I can't say yes or no for sure."

"OK, thank you for your time, Mr…" Lincolns said.

The man handed him the CD.

"Just call me Bob of Bob's Pawn Shop."

The pair took their leave and headed home. They didn't speak until they arrived back at the garage.

* * *

"We have to get this CD to the police," Lincoln said.

"It doesn't fully clear Luan because we don't get a view of her face," Lucy said. "But that would be the best thing to do."

"It's just odd though."

"What's odd, Lincoln?"

"Why would the bracelet diamonds be fake?"

"I don't know. Also, we don't know for sure if those diamonds and the bracelet have anything to do with one another."

"They have to be," Lincoln said. "A few days after a pricey bracelet is stolen a girl, obviously trying to conceal her identity, goes to a police-avoiding pawn shop in a rundown part of town to sell diamonds that turn out to be fake. Then, the bracelet shows back up at the house it was stolen from immediately after the girl goes to the pawn shop and there are diamonds still missing from the bracelet."

"Also, why return the bracelet?"

"Good question," Lincolns said, scratching his chin. "Maybe the thief wanted the Cranes to know it was fake."

"Wouldn't they already know?" Lucy said. "Mr. Crane bought it. That means they are lying. The bracelet isn't as valuable as they are saying it is."

"I think you are right, they are lying about that. That means the cops probably don't know the diamonds are fake. If they find the diamonds still on the bracelet are fake, we can prove that this girl is connected to the theft. Who just has fake diamonds lying around to sell?"

Lucy nodded her head.

"I like that idea. We should go to the cops now."

"We will in just a bit, I just wanted to think on something first."

"Think on what?"

"What Bob told us the girl said, 'that piece of S-word, that fraud.' It doesn't sound like she is talking about the diamonds. It sounds like she was talking about a person."

"One would think she would refer to plural diamonds in a plural way, 'those frauds,'" Lucy agreed. "Have you ever heard of an object being referred to as a fraud? I thought that was a word used for people."

Lincoln got out a dictionary from a dusty stack of old books in a corner of the garage. He flipped through it until he found fraud.

"Deceit, trickery," Lincoln read, "Intentional perversion of the truth in order to induce another to part with something of value or to surrender a legal right, an act of deceiving or misrepresenting, a person who is not what he or she pretends to be, insurance fraud, credit card fraud…"

"OK, OK, I get it," Lucy said. "So it can be used to describe a type of fraud, like insurance or credit card fraud, but if used like the girl used it, it would be referring to a person, _that_ fraud, not _a_ fraud."

"I think we've settled it, she was talking about a person, not a diamond. But, who could she be talking about?"

"The Cranes," Lucy said. "I'm thinking she was targeting the Cranes and knew about the safe and the bracelet. She picked the lock and stole the bracelet. She didn't know the diamonds were fake. She may have been referring to the Cranes as frauds because she knows them and they were pretending to be something they are not."

"Like that they are rich, maybe?"

"Maybe."

"So this girl is someone who has been inside the Cranes' home and is an enemy of theirs," Lucy said. "Who could that be?"

"I have no idea. That would still put Luan as a suspect. She has been in the house and they made an enemy out of her."

"Let's just go to the police station," Lucy said. "And give them the CD and the information we gathered."


	10. Mission Impossible

Lincoln and Lucy had to wait until Monday to go to the police station. The front office was only open to the public on weekdays. Lincoln held the CD and copies of their notes from the pawn shops tightly to his chest as they walked to the Royal Woods Police Department. Built in the 1940s, the station was a square, redbrick building connected to a decommissioned fire station that was built at the same time. The fire department had moved to a larger, modern building a couple years earlier and now it was used for storage by the city.

The front office was exceptionally busy, even for a Monday. There were at least ten people packed into one side of the room, waiting in line. There were a couple more elsewhere in the lobby, sitting on a bench, standing next to the pop machine and one man was talking to a police officer next to the hallway leading towards the back of the building. The woman in the front of the line at the counter when the two kids entered the lobby was yelling loudly at the receptionist about a traffic citation. The receptionist did not appear perturbed in the slightest.

They had to stand in line for fifteen minutes before they made it to the counter. More people had stepped in to wait behind the kids. The receptionist looked up at Lincoln and Lucy curiously.

"How can I help you?"

"I'm Lincoln Loud and this is my sister, Lucy," Lincoln said. "We're here to talk to the detectives in charge of our sister's case. Our sister is Luan Loud."

"Well, that is really sweet of you, little guy," the woman said, dryly. "I don't believe they are here right now."

"How do you know, could you check?" Lincoln asked. "It's really important. I think one of them is call Detective Amos."

The woman smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Where are your parents, little guy?"

"At work," Lincoln lied. He knew that his parents were actually at the courthouse with Luan for her first court hearing.

"OK, well you go tell your parents to bring in whatever you have to us. Now run along, you don't want them to come home to find you missing do you?"

With that, the woman motioned the next person in the line forward and the siblings, not knowing what to do, were forced to step away from the counter. They went to stand between the pop machine and the wall.

"What do we do now?" Lucy asked.

Lincoln said nothing for a moment, a thumb and index finger cradling his chin.

"We have to get this information to Detective Amos and the other detectives," Lincoln said. "We have to do it quickly. I also want to know if the cops know about the fake diamonds and if they have made any breakthroughs."

"So, what do we do?" Lucy repeated.

"I have a plan," Lincoln exclaimed.

Lucy frowned, Lincoln's plans tended to be farfetched and were often unsuccessful.

"I'll stay here and keep watch while you sneak into the offices through the air vents to find the detectives," the boy said. "And give them the CD and notes."

"What if I get caught? This is not like at home."

"Make sure you don't then," Lincoln said. "I saw an air vent on the side of the building."

"I don't know about this, Lincoln."

"You are really good at it and you know it. You won't be caught."

Lucy sighed. She could admit it, the challenge of infiltrating the police station piqued her interest. But, it was a crazy thing to consider doing.

"I'll get you anything you want," Lincoln pleaded. "I'll get you the new Edwin comic."

"It's expensive and mom said no."

"She didn't say no to me. Come on Lucy, I know deep down you want to do this."

Lucy sighed.

"You're right. OK, I'll do it, but I want the collector's edition of the comic with the Edwin figurine."

Lincoln remained by the pop machine as Lucy left the lobby and walked around to the side of the building. She tucked the CD and papers into her waist band. The vent was there, only held to the building by four rather large, simple screws, one in each corner, but it was out in the open. She would have no cover to mask her movements.

First, all she did was walk to the vent cover and sit down next to it. She sat there motionless for a few moments before quickly unscrewing the two screws on her side of the grate using a dime. Lucy moved to the other side of the grate and after making sure no one was watching her, unscrewed the final two screws.

Lucy sat next to the unattached vent cover for several minutes. If anyone saw her opening the grate and entering the vent, they would surely alert the cops to her activities. She waited until she couldn't see anyone along the street in either direction and then she made her move. She flipped the grate down and slid feet first into the vent, setting the cover back in its place once she was all the way inside.

It took her a few moments to get herself turned around and oriented to the layout of the building. The summer before, the police department had put on a barbeque for the community. The Loud family had attended and Lucy, along with others, had been in and out of the public portion of the building to use the restrooms.

The restrooms were just a few feet down the short hallway off the lobby. Beyond them was the nonpublic area. Lucy had caught a glimpse of a breakroom and what appeared to be an office area during the barbeque. She went over what she could remember about the building in her head creating a rough map.

Realizing that the vent she was in would be located on the back wall of the lobby, behind the counter, she decided that she would want to turn to her right to find the office area as soon as she found an air vent going in that direction. She moved forward as silently as she could. The walls were thin and Lucy could hear people talking on both sides of the wall.

It was dark in that part of the duct system. She could see about five feet ahead of her was a grate leading to a room she assumed was the lobby. It provided the only source of light ahead of her. Before she reached it though, she found a dark vent branching off to her right. She ventured carefully down it, stifling a sneeze. She wondered if the vents had ever been cleaned in that building.

Dim light came from a vent about ten feet ahead. Lucy crept up to it and peaked out. The grate was partially covered by a piece of furniture, but she could see a wood desk with a computer monitor sitting on top. The room was quiet and Lucy was about to continue along the duct when she heard the sound of a door opening and then voices.

"I don't think she'll go anywhere," a man said. "I'm fine with letting her stay at home."

The speaker, plus another younger man, stepped into Lucy's view. The speaker was the male detective Lucy knew to be working on her sister's case.

"Jim, I think we are going to have a problem though," the younger man said.

"You mean that fingerprint?"

"Of course I am. As soon as the defense learns of it, they will twist it to get the Loud girl off."

"Frankly, Wes, I'm not worried. It's just an incidental. All the other prints belong to Luan."

Lucy had to suppress an exclamation of surprise. They had found a fingerprint on the paper bag that was not Luan's? Lucy could barely contain herself. The detective referred to as Wes opened a drawer in the desk and grabbed something from it. He shut the drawer and the two men left the room.

Lucy squeezed out from the air duct and dusted herself off. Knowing she didn't have much time she went right to work on Lincoln's plan. There were three desks in the room. Each had a computer and a name plate on it. The desk in front of the vent belonged to Wesley Mason. The desk directly across from his belonged to Jena Amos. The third was facing the door and belonged to James Paulson.

Lucy tried all three computers. They were all password protected. Based on what she knew and had heard about the detectives, she believed that Paulson was the most senior of the three in the office. She placed the CD and copies of her notes on Paulson's desk where he would immediately notice them. She decided to take a peek at the files that were laid out on the desks and in the drawers.

Luckily for her, the file on Luan was set out on Paulson's vinyl desk pad. Lucy carefully opened the half inch thick manila folder. The first thing she came across was a list of all the catalogued evidence including the bracelet and brown paper bag. The list had page numbers of the reports on each item. She went first to the page on the bracelet.

There was no mention of the diamonds being fakes. They were noted as being real, but it didn't say if the cops had tested them or not. The report did note, however, that the cops had to clean peanut butter and strawberry jam off the bracelet. It had been transfer from the inside of the paper bag.

"That's interesting," Lucy murmured to herself, quickly writing down the information in her notebook.

She moved on to the report on the paper bag. It was small, the kind often used for kids' lunches. Inside the bag was a portion of a bread crust and more peanut butter and jam residue and a string cheese wrapper. Lucy noted that it was the kind of string cheese favored by her and her siblings. Eight fingerprints had been found on the bag, noted as a right thumb, two of the same right index fingers, one right middle, one right ring, a partial right pinky, a left index and an additional unknown finger. The additional finger belonged to an unknown person. The rest belonged to Luan.

There was a diagram of where the prints were found on the bag. The complete set of five fingerprints were on the outside of the bag, at the opening and laid out as they would be if someone was carrying the bag. Of the two single index prints belonging to Luan, one was inside the bag and the other was at the top on the outside. The unknown print was at the top, next to the thumb print.

At the end of the report it was noted that the paper bag had what appeared to kitchen oil and coffee grounds on the outside and had a slight smell of bacon grease on it. The stains had not been officially analyzed, according to the report.

It's like the bag was pulled from the garbage, Lucy thought. Like it was just there and the thief happened to need a bag.

Lucy wrote that thought down in her notebook.

The eight-year-old looked through the rest of the file quickly, but it contained information that she either already knew or wasn't going to be useful to clear Luan. She did notice that the Crane neighbor that had seen the mystery girl at the Cranes' house had also told the police. Lucy was turned the page to see if the police had followed up on that lead, when a sheet of notebook paper fell out of the file and drifted to the floor. Lucy picked up the four by six inch sheet and read the printed writing that was on one side.

 ** _Jim, I was thinking, look into Alvin Crane. Misty told me that he comes in ~2X a day to demand bracelet released. Becoming more agitated about it. Does not want us to touch it at all, thinks it will be damaged apparently :/ Jena_**

Lucy quickly stuffed the note back into the file and backed into the vent as she heard someone unlocking the door. She had just enough time to put the vent cover back in place before a woman she recognized as being Det. Amos entered the room and sat down at her desk. She silently began to make her way out of the station's HVAC system.

As she crawled out of the duct, an idea came to Lucy.

Mr. Crane does know the diamonds are fake! She thought. He doesn't want them examined in case the cops find out what they really are.

Lucy didn't see the officer as she exited the air duct, but he had to be close by, because he grabbed her by the back of her collar as she was setting the grate back in place.

"And just what do you think you are doing, kid?" the grey haired officer asked sharply.

"I-I-I thought I saw a cat, I…"

"Oh come on, we'll go find your parents."

The officer escorted her to the front door to the lobby. His hand still on her collar.

While Lucy was sneaking into the private portion of the station, Lincoln remained tucked behind the pop machine, watching people mill around the lobby. What felt like an hour to the boy, was really just ten minutes. He was deciding on whether or not to go find Lucy, when a commotion erupted amongst the people in the room.

Alvin Crane slammed open the door, causing everyone to stop what they were doing to stare at him.

"Where is Detective Jim Paulson? I want to talk to him immediately!" he shouted at the receptionist from across the room.

Lincoln tucked himself farther behind the pop machine. He definitely didn't want to be seen by the man.

"Detective Paulson is not available," the receptionist said, calmly. "You can leave a message for him."

"That's not good enough," the man continued shouting, "I want my bracelet back today! I cannot wait any longer!"

Det. Paulson and Det. Mason walked out into the lobby from the hallway leading to the back portion of the station.

"Mr. Crane," Paulson said. "I'd advise you to lower you voice and check your tone. You can be heard shouting from the back of the department. How can I assist you?"

"All I want is my bracelet," Mr. Crane said, more calmly than before, but he still had an agitated edge to his voice. "It's not too much to expect ones property to be returned to them once it has been recovered."

"I understand that you are frustrated by this situation," Paulson said. "And you will get your bracelet back, but not until we have concluded our investigation."

"What more is there to investigate? That Loud girl stole the bracelet, case closed!"

It was at this point that Lucy was escorted through the lobby door by the elderly officer. Mr. Crane had been shouting loud enough that he could be clearly heard by Lucy and the officer while they were walking to the door.

"You want it back so bad because the diamonds are fake, don't you?" she blurted out.

Mr. Crane jumped in surprise, his eye looked like they were about to pop out of his head and his mouth dropped open, but no sound came forth. Paulson and Mason both raised their eyebrows at the girl. No one in the lobby said anything for a few beats. The public in the room looked from the dumbfounded man to Lucy to Paulson. They waited eagerly for what was coming next.

"Th-th-that's not true, that's a lie!" Mr. Crane spluttered.

His face had turned a ghostly white after Lucy's announcement.

"And you know they are fake because you are the one who switched them," Lucy continued.

Mr. Crane's face had gone from white to purple with rage.

"How did you-no, that's a lie!" he screamed.

The rather burly man took a step towards Lucy. The elderly officer that had escorted her into the lobby let go of her collar and stepped around Lucy, partially blocking her from the man. Lincoln rushed out from behind the vending machine to stand next to his sister. Det. Paulson walked up to Mr. Crane to stand beside him.

"I would appreciate it if you would calm down," Paulson said.

Being told to calm down seemed to infuriate Mr. Crane even more.

"I won't be accused of things by a little girl!"

He turned again to Lucy, pointing a finger at her.

"You are a liar from a family of liars an-and thieves!" he cried. "I'll sue you for slander! I'll bury your family in so much litigation your grandkids will be paying me back!"

"Mr. Crane, if you cannot calm down, then you will need to leave," Paulson said. "The bracelet is not going to be released anytime soon, so you can just go home."

Mr. Crane looked like he was going to refuse to leave, but Det. Paulson took a step towards him.

"Do you require an escort out of the building?"

The man shook with rage, but turned away from the detective and stamped out of the lobby. The public that were milling around, watching the confrontation went back to what they had been doing prior. The two detectives turned to Lucy.

"What made you say something like that?" Paulson asked her. "What are you two kids up to?"

"I found this one," the older officer nudged Lucy forward, "Coming out of the air vent on the side of the building."

"Oh, really," Paulson said, incredulously. "And what were you doing?"

"We had no choice, sir," Lincoln said. "The lady at the front desk wouldn't listen to us. We had evidence to give you about our sister's case. It couldn't wait any longer."

"Evidence, what evidence?" Mason asked. "Where is it?"

"I put in on Det. Paulson's desk," Lucy said. "A copy of my notes and a CD. This officer caught me on my way out of the building."

"Sgt. Danner, thank you, we can take it from here," Det. Paulson said to the silver-haired man. To the kids he said, "Come back to our office you two, we'll have a little chat about trespassing and breaking and entering."

Lincoln and Lucy followed Paulson and Mason to their office. Sgt. Danner left through the front door. Det. Amos was typing on her computer when the four walked in. She stopped what she was doing.

"What you are two up to?" she addressed the two detectives.

"Clearing up a couple of things, Paulson answered, sitting behind his desk. He picked up the CD and notes. "These what you left for me?"

Lucy nodded. She and Lincoln were instructed to sit in the two chairs in front of the desk. Mason sat on the corner of his desk closest to Paulson's.

"Now before we get into this new evidence you're submitting," Paulson said, rather loudly. "You'd be well advised not to break into places, police stations especially. You are not doing your sister any favors by committing crimes on her behalf. I could easily file charges against you, Miss Loud. What you did is unacceptable. If you were older, Sgt. Danner would have called for armed back for what he caught you doing. I will be having a talk with your parents. Now, what have you brought me?"

The middle-aged detective slid the CD into his computer tower. As the computer worked on pulling up the video, Paulson looked closely at Lucy and asked:

"So what made you say that the diamonds are fake? Especially to Crane's face?"

Mason snickered quietly.

"I said it to get a reaction from him," she said. "His reaction and his statements prove he knew and that was why he was coming in every day to get the bracelet. He didn't want you to know."

"Why do you think the diamonds are fake?" Paulson asked.

"The video is from Bob's Pawn Shop," Lucy began. "On Thursday a teenage girl tried to pawn diamonds there, but they were fake. The video will show the girl and also the owner, Bob, breaking a diamond to prove to her that they are fake. I wrote all the info we got from Bob in my notes, the girl's description, what Bob said happened and out theory. It's all there. We figured whoever stole the bracelet would want to sell it, but took the diamonds separately so it wouldn't be suspicious. This girl was the only one to be pawning diamonds in town after the theft and they were fake. I figure all the diamonds in the bracelet would be fake. We decided to see if you all knew about the fakes."

Det. Mason had been looking through her notes.

"You did take detailed notes, young lady, I'll give you that," he said.

"There's no mention of the diamonds being tested in the report," Amos said, looking through the online report. "Since these two went to such lengths to get us their information, I'll go see about verifying if they are real or fake."

Det. Amos got up and hurried from the office.

"It shouldn't take her too long," Mason said.

It took Paulson's computer a few minutes to open the file containing the pawn shop video. Paulson and Mason watched it several times through without comment.

"It's too bad we never got a look at her face," Mason said.

"It's not Luan though," Lincoln said. "This girl doesn't have braces, Luan does."

"That is true," Paulson conceded.

"So you can drop the charges against Luan now," Lucy stated.

"We'll we still haven't connected this girl to the stolen bracelet," Paulson said. "It could be unrelated."

Det. Amos returned at that moment. She had a surprised look on her face.

"It's true, I had the lab tech look at all the diamonds. They are all glass! The gold is real, but the diamonds aren't!"

The two male detectives were stunned.

"Does that tie the girl to the case?" Lincoln asked.

"It certainly suggests a connection," Paulson said after a few seconds.

"And you saw how Mr. Crane reacted when I said he wanted the bracelet back because it was he knew the diamonds were fake," Lucy said. "He's the one who switched the real ones for glass ones and he doesn't want anyone to know."

"That's some astute reasoning, kid," Mason said. "I say, we get Mr. Crane in here for an interview. Ask him why he didn't mention his diamonds weren't real."

"Insurance probably," Lincoln said.

Paulson nodded and chuckled.

"Luan is a lucky girl to have siblings willing to work so hard and risk it all to help her," he said.

Paulson tuned to Mason.

"Please contact their parents now."

"Oh, you don't have to do that!" Lincoln exclaimed.

"After what you two pulled, I'm afraid I do," Paulson said.

"No one was listening to us, we had no choice," Lincoln said.

"I'm sorry about how the receptionist treated you," Paulson said. "But you didn't do the right thing either."

"Will finding out the diamonds are fake change anything?" Lucy asked.

"Well, we will be following up with the Cranes and inform the prosecutor's office about the fakes," Paulson said. "The bracelet will be worth significantly less than originally reported. It could bring the larceny charge down to a misdemeanor. We will also try to track down this girl. I promise, we will take this new info seriously."

The kids nodded.

"Went I was in the vent," Lucy said. "I hear you talking about a single unknown print on the paper bag along with Luan's prints."

"Yes, what about it?"

"You called it an incidental. What does that mean?"

"We all touch things casually throughout the day and throughout our lives," Amos spoke up. "Those casual prints we leave behind are called incidental prints. I saw that you incidentally touched Detective Paulson's desk as you sat down, for instance. Someone at some point happened to touch the bag that Luan used."

"It's just as plausible that Luan's prints are the incidentals then?" Lincoln stated.

Paulson and Amos looked at one another.

"There are far too many of her prints on the bag for them to be incidentals," Amos said.

"But the bag was clearly being used as a…" Lincoln began.

"I got ahold of their father," Mason interrupted. "He's on his way."


	11. No Pun for a No-Fun Run

Lincoln sat quietly on his bed, his shoulders were propped up against his headboard and his head drooped forward. His eyes were downcast and his mouth was set in a frown. He had been in this position since finishing his dinner, the remains of which were on a tray, set next to the closed door. He imagined Lucy in a similar pose in her room.

Their father had picked them up at the police station. He had not said a word to either Lincoln or Lucy on the drive home. Once home, he had directed them to sit at the dining room table and proceeded to chew them out about their antics at the police station. Lincoln had never seen his father so angry or stressed out. He had tried to explain that they were there to help clear Luan, but Lynn didn't care to hear it, they had done wrong and were going to pay for it. How dare they cause the family more issues and worry while they were dealing with what was going on with Luan. The pair were not to leave their rooms except to use the bathroom until after breakfast the next morning and they were not allowed to leave the property for two weeks with no TV. Lynn Sr. and Rita were going to be assigning them extra chores once they had decided on them.

Lincoln sighed. He felt that he was close to the truth, he just needed a little more time to investigate. But, where to go now? He was at a loss. Unless he could find the mystery girl, he didn't think he could go any farther on the case, but he couldn't find it in him to give up. Luan was counting on him. The police had certain rules they had to go by, it was easier for him to get around those rules due to both his age and his not being an officer of the law.

The eleven-year-old got out an old spiral notebook that he'd used in math class. He flipped through it until he came to an empty page about two-thirds of the way through. He wrote the main points of the case as he knew it now, the mystery girl seen hanging around the Crane house up until the party, a similar girl at the pawn shop to pawn glass diamonds, she knew how to pick locks, she used a discarded lunch bag to return the bracelet, minus several diamonds.

Lincoln looked at his list. He wrote, _Luan's prints on the bag like she was holding it._ He made a bullet point underneath that and wrote, _why did she return the bracelet? Because worthless to her?_

Luan must have used the bag for her lunch, he thought. I wonder how long before the incident she used it. It wouldn't have been at school, it's done for the year.

Lincoln got up from the bed, tore a blank page from the notebook and snuck from his room. He stuck the page in a pocket and made it look like he was heading to the bathroom in case one of his parents saw him. He quietly slipped into Luan and Luna's room and closed the door behind him. Luan was lying on her bed, reading a novel, much like she had been doing since returning from the juvenile detention center. She looked up as he sat on the side of the bed. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and lack of sleep. Her hair was frizzier than normal.

"Hey, Lincoln," she said, quietly.

"I'm here to ask a few questions."

"About my case? If dad finds out, you'll get in even more trouble."

"I don't care about getting in trouble with dad. You are the one who is in real trouble."

"Yah, I really am," she said, sadly. "But, you don't need to be too."

"Like I said, I don't care. When was the last time you took a sack lunch out?"

Luan gave her brother a puzzled look.

"I don't remember when the last time was…the last day of school maybe?"

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I know I took lunch on that day," Luan said.

"OK, what did you take for lunch?"

"Um, a PB & J, string cheese, an apple and some Nutter Butters."

"Did you eat all of the sandwich?"

"I-I don't know! I really don't feel up to answering questions right now, Lincoln! Especially about stupid things like what I ate at school."

"The bag the bracelet was found in had your fingerprints on it and remains of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a string cheese wrapper inside."

Luan looked at the underside of the top bunk for a few moments.

"On Friday, the last day of school I was at lunch with my friends in the cafeteria. I was late because I had to use the bathroom and there was a long line. We were laughing and joking, so I didn't eat very fast. I ate my sandwich last, but I had the apple earlier in the day, in the morning…I don't recall if I ate all the sandwich or not."

"What did you do with the bag?"

"I don't know…Wait, I was in a hurry, so I shoved it in my backpack. I was so preoccupied with getting ready for Ben's birthday party and then what happened afterwards I didn't clean out my school stuff from my bag until the Wednesday after the party, just before I was taken to the police station for questioning. I had put all my stuff from my locker in there. I'm sure I saw the bag at the bottom or near the bottom of my pack. I put it in the pile of papers and stuff I didn't need and threw it in the garbage cans."

"On Wednesday?" Lincoln reiterated.

Luan nodded.

"Garbage pick-up is on Fridays on our block and that was Wednesday, so the garbage cans would have been nearly full for the week," Lincoln said, more to himself. "The bag would have been right at the top."

He processed that fact for a moment before speaking to Luan again.

"Were you alone when you threw the bag away?"

Luan thought for a moment.

"Well, I was, but Leni was outside nearby with Lyra and Amanda, they were on the porch, and Lynn was setting up a ramp in the driveway. Lana was in the backyard yelling about something or other."

"Did you see anyone digging through the garbage cans?"

"No, I just dumped the trash in there and went back to the house."

"Did you see anyone else nearby?" Lincoln asked.

"Not anyone that I didn't know," she said. "I don't know Lyra and Amanda very well, but they are around a lot. Lyra has been around a lot for the past few days. She's been trying to comfort me and help me out. Says she feels so bad for me."

"Has she tried hanging out with you before?"

"Never before. Now I can't get her to leave me alone."

"Has she said why she has a sudden interest in you?"

"She says she just feels so bad for me. I heard her say something about knowing what it was like to be shunned by society. She's only not here now because dad told her to leave me alone for a while. She was starting to bother me."

"Thanks, Luan, you've been very helpful."

Lincoln snuck back to his room and laid out on his bed wondering about who it was who took the bag out of the garbage can. He wrote out the names of all those Luan had said were nearby.

Leni

Lyra

Amanda

Lynn Jr.

Lana

There could have been more of their siblings and others about, but these were the ones that Luan had noticed for one reason or another. Lana was being loud, Lynn was building something, Leni and her friends were on the porch. Of the five, only Lynn would have had the garbage in view. He knew that Leni, Lynn and Lana wouldn't have had the bracelet in their possession. He doubted Lyra and Amanda had anything to do with the bracelet, they had known Leni for most of their lives and always got along with the rest of the Loud kids, even if they didn't hang out with them. Lincoln continued to ponder about who would have taken the bag for some time, but there was something bothering him about what Luan had told him. He didn't know what yet. To distract himself, he decided to move on to the next thing he could, question the possible witnesses to whoever took the bag.

He realized that anyone who lived on the property was a potential witness. He made a list of potential witnesses and why they would be a witness.

Mom (Rita): lives here

Dad (Lynn Sr.): lives here

Lori: lives here

Leni: lives here

Luna: lives here

Lynn Jr.: lives here

Lucy: lives here

Lana: lives here

Lola: lives here

Lisa: lives here

Lily: lives here

Lyra: was here day bag put in trash

Amanda: was here day bag put in trash

Mr. Grouse: nosey and grumpy

Clyde: was here day bag put in trash

He was planning on starting with those who were there when Luan put the bag in the trash, but he had one person he wanted to talk to first. He stealthily made his way to Lucy's room. She was asleep, hugging her Edwin bust to herself. Lincoln shook her awake.

"What do you want Lincoln?"

He quickly explained about how the lunch bag found its way into the thief's possession.

"I need help interviewing the family quickly."

"Forget it, Lincoln. Don't you think we are in enough trouble as it is?"

"Lucy, we can't just give up when we are so close! Plus, Luan is counting on us. The cops are never going to look into where specifically the bag came from like we will."

Lucy shook her head and looked away from Lincoln.

"Fine, Lucy, I'll do it on my own," Lincoln said, stomping out of her room.

Once he was back in the hallway he realized he forgot to ask her if she saw anything on Wednesday, but he decided just to move on and talk to those who were there first. He didn't know where Lynn was at that moment so he headed to Lola and Lana's room. They were both there.

"What are you doing out of your room, Lincoln?" Lola said. "I'm telling dad!"

"Wait, wait, I've come to ask you questions about Wednesday, before the cops showed up the first time."

"About what?" Lola asked.

Lincoln quickly explained about the lunch bag and Luan had done with it.

"I was inside until those cops came," Lola said. "I didn't see anything."

"I was trying to teach Izzy some tricks in the backyard," Lana said. "I never went near the garbage cans that day, never saw anyone."

Lincoln thanked them and went across the hall to Lisa and Lily's room. Lisa was there. She hadn't seen anything useful that day. None of his other sisters were on the second floor so he went back to his room and sat down on the side of his bed.

What to do, what to do? He thought.

He decided to wait until more of his sisters came up to their rooms and was sitting quietly on his bed when the high pitched sounds of Leni and some other girls talking came wafting through his small open window from the driveway below. He grabbed his chair and placed it under the window. If he stood on it on his tippy-toes, he could just see out the window.

Leni was disappearing wound the corner of the house as Lincoln peered out the window, leaving her friends standing in a group by the closed garage door. It was Lyra, Amanda and another one of Leni's friends, Rebecca Morris.

Oh, good, he thought. I can talk to Leni, Lyra and Amanda.

The boy watched the girls for a little while. Leni returned with a large box and they spread out a large tarp on the asphalt. The teens began setting out arts and crafts supplies on the tarp. It didn't look like they were going to be coming up to the second floor anytime soon, so Lincoln began formulating a plan to sneak down to them. He couldn't risk shouting out of the window at them and attracting the attention of his parents.

"Hey."

"EEP!" Lincoln jumped and fell off his chair at the sudden creepy voice from behind him.

Lucy helped him untangle himself from the chair.

"You scared me, Lucy."

"Sorry, I came over to tell you I changed my mind. I'll keep helping you in this investigation."

He realized that Lucy was wearing her detective suit.

"Good, I need you to sneak down to the driveway to talk to Leni, Lyra and Amanda. Ask them if they saw anyone around the garbage cans on Wednesday. Saw anyone take anything from them."

"Ok."

Lucy ducked out his room, closing the door behind her. Lincoln returned to the window to watch.

* * *

Lucy used the duct system to make her way out of the house. Once she got to the driveway, only Leni, Amanda and Rebecca were there. Her appearance startled the three girls.

"Where's Lyra?" she asked.

"She went to get something to drink," Amanda told her.

"Aren't you supposed to be in your room?" Leni asked.

"It's OK, mom said I could come outside now. Since I spend so much time in my room anyway, being confined there isn't much of a punishment."

"Oh, OK."

"I wanted to ask you, Leni, and Lyra and Amanda some questions about Wednesday, you know the day the police came and searched the house the first time."

"Like what?" Amanda asked.

"Did either of you see anyone hanging around the garbage cans or take anything from one of them?"

Leni's eyes glazed over and Amanda bit her lower lip.

"We were eating snacks on the porch that morning," Amanda said. "Lyra offered to take our trash to the garbage. She took all the wrappers to the cans by the garage. She's the only one I saw."

"Yah, I saw that other girl digging through your trash," a cranky and old voice said. "Thought that was odd."

The group turned to see Mr. Grouse standing on the property line his yard shared with the Loud family's yard. He was covered with dirt and holding a shovel and rake.

"I was in my garden, going after that stinkin' gopher again. I saw her dump a bunch o' candy wrappers and junk in one of the cans. Then she stopped and looked in the other. She reached in and pulled something out. I couldn't tell what it was exactly."

"Could it have been a paper bag?" Lucy asked.

"Eh…I couldn't say. It was brown though, I believe. I thought it was odd, a girl who was not one o' Louds rifling through a trash can. Hah, that's more you Loud kids' style."

With that Mr. Grouse walked off towards his house.

"Lyra, do you have an explanation for that?" Amanda called over Lucy's shoulder.

The group turned to look. Lyra had been standing by the corner of the house listening to them. Her face was pale and her eyes were jumping one of their faces to another nervously.

"Lyra, can I talk to you?" Lucy asked, taking several steps toward her.

"Don't talk to me!" Lyra shouted and turned away from the group.

Lyra started to run across the yard, but tripped over the hose which had been left out, loosely coiled in crisscross patterns on the grass. She fell and twisted on the ground, getting tangled in the hose. Lucy, Leni, Amanda and Rebecca ran forward to help her. Lincoln, who had been listening to Lucy question the girls, had come running when he saw Lyra try to run. He came rushing out of the front door as Lyra fell. He hurried towards the teen to try and help her get untangled.

The girl sat up and pushed off the hose as much as she could on her own. The other four girls pulled the rest of it away. Lucy held out a hand to help Lyra to stand up, but the teenager slapped it away.

"Lyra!" Leni exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"Leni, you keep your goth sister and your brother away from me! I don't need them prying into my life!"

Lyra got to her feet and ran off down the sidewalk.

"What's wrong with her?" Leni asked.

"Lucy, let's go!" Lincoln shouted. "I think this case is about to wrap itself up!"

* * *

Lucy and Lincoln took off down the street after Lyra. She had a good head start on them, but the eleven and eight-year-olds were quick on their feet.

"She has to be the mystery girl!" Lincoln puffed. "She would also fit the description of the mystery girl and the girl at the pawn shop!"

"But, why?" Lucy asked.

"We'll just have to ask her when we catch her!"

The pair chased Lyra down the street to the nearby park. The park had a duck pond, a jungle gym in the center and the city's dirt bike course along one side. The far end bordered an expansive wilderness area that had several bike and walking trails. She cut through the middle of the park, she appeared to be going to the wilderness area.

That's what was bothering me about what Luan said, Lincoln thought. Lyra's never taken an interest in Luan, so why start now? She felt guilt!

"I guess she can't feel that guilty," Lincoln said aloud and somewhat breathlessly. "If she is running away."

Lucy looked at him quizzically, but due to her huffing and puffing, she said nothing.

Lincoln wondered if there was a way to cut the girl off, but she had maintained the fifteen or so feet head start on them. Lincoln and Lucy called out for help, but the nearby adults and kids just stared at them.

Before they knew it, they had reached the edge of the wilderness area. Lyra sprinted through the line of trees and bushes on a gravel path. Lincoln and Lucy were growing tired, but followed her as fast as they could.

We have to figure out some way to stop her, Lincoln thought.

It occurred to him that they could let her go, it didn't appear she was going to slow down. Lyra was proving to be an amazing runner. She would most likely go home. They could go inform the police. Det. Paulson had listened to them even after they had been caught breaking into the police station. Lincoln felt that the man could be trusted. He was about to suggest that to his sister when there was a fast rustling noise from the bushes to their right and a flash of pink streaked out on to the path in front of Lyra.

It was Luan on Lynn's pink bicycle!

Lyra was unable to stop herself in time and she crashed into Luan's side and the two teenagers and the bike fell into a heap, with Lyra rolling ahead by half her body. A cloud of dust rose into the tree branches above.

"Don't move Lyra!" Lincoln exclaimed hoarsely, exhausted from his long run.

Lincoln and Lucy rushed towards Lyra, but the teen was not ready to give up. Unlike Luan, who was lying under the bicycle coughing, Lyra had avoided injury. The two preteens managed to grab Lyra by her shoulders as she was on her hands and knees, but the stronger girl twisted away and grabbed Lucy by the front of her jacket with one of her hands. At the same time, she threw a handful of dirt in Lincoln's eyes.

The boy cried out and clutched at his stinging eyes. While he was distracted, Lyra took Lucy's jacket in both her fists and swung her into the thick bushes on the side of the path. The thin, brittle branches only broke under the girl's weight, scratching her, as she came back down to earth. Lucy rolled down a slight embankment and stopped against a tree trunk, hitting her right elbow.

Back on the path as Lyra hurled Lucy away, Luan had extracted herself from under the bike. The impact with Lyra and subsequent impact with the ground had knocked the wind out of her. In her mind, she promised herself not to try a stunt like that again. She took a step towards Lyra, her right knee was throbbing, but she ignored it.

"Lyra, stop! What do you think you are doing?"

"I won't get caught!"

"It's already too late for that!" Luan cried, putting an arm around a sobbing Lincoln. "You stole the bracelet didn't you?"

"That's none…"

Suddenly, the group could hear several shouting voices, a man and higher pitched female voices. Lyra took several steps back. Tears were streaking down her face.

"Tell, Lincoln and Lucy I'm sorry. I overreacted. Like I always do."

Lyra sprinted away. Luan wanted to follow her, a dark urge inside her bubbling up, making her want to pound the girl to a bloody pulp, but didn't she dare leave Lincoln as he was. Luan figured there would be time for retribution later.

"Lucy, can you hear me? Are you OK?" Luan called into the bushes where Lucy had been tossed.

"Yah, I'm OK. I'm just trying to find a way around these bushes. Just a minute."

The voices got louder and a small group came into view, it was Lynn Sr. leading Leni, Amanda, Rebecca, Lynn Jr., Lola and Lana. They all had angry looks on their faces, particularly Mr. Loud. A bloodied and bruised Lucy joined Luan and Lincoln just as the larger group arrived.

"Are you three alright?" Lynn Sr. exclaimed, kneeling down and placing a hand on Lucy and Lincoln. "Luan, your knee's really bleeding."

"Where's Lyra?" several girls exclaimed at once.

"She ran off down the path," Luan said, pointing in the direction the teen had gone.

"Let's get her!" Lynn Jr. shouted, brandishing a well-used baseball bat above her head.

Luan noticed that several of the other girls also had weapons. Lola had her sturdiest twirling baton, Lana had her favorite hammer, Leni, Amanda and Rebecca had what appeared to be a handmade net. Lynn Sr. quickly snatched the hammer from Lana and stuck it through his belt.

"You will not be exacting revenge today girls," he cried, he pointed to Amanda. "Like I instructed you on the way over here, call 911 and request an ambulance to come to the main wilderness path from the Royal Woods Memorial Park, from the main parking lot. I'll instruct you on what to say next. Leni, help Luan wash the dirt from Lincoln's eyes with the water you brought. Rebecca, Lynn, Lana go to the main parking lot and direct the ambulance. Lola go as far as the beginning of the path from the park. GO!"

The girls went about their assigned tasks. Lynn turned to Luan's knee and gently brushed off the gravel that was still sticking to the nasty scrape the fourteen-year-old had received.

"You all have a lot to explain to me once we get you three patched up."


	12. A Dissolution

Luan, Lincoln and Lucy each sat on the couch. Luan had her right leg propped up on a cushion, a two inch by two inch bandage taped to her knee. Lincoln had a cool, damp wash cloth over his eyes. Lucy was readjusting the bandage on her right elbow. All together, they had only received minor scrapes and bruises. Luan just had the scrape on her knee, which while painful to bend, was superficial. Lucy had a sliver removed from her skinned right elbow and had received a couple bruises and several scratches to her face and shins from the bush. Her suit jacket had taken most of the damage and now lay draped over a chair in Lucy's room, torn in several places. Lincoln's eyes had been irrigated by the EMTs and would be fine, but they were still red and irritated.

Leni and Lola had been waiting on them hand and foot since they had returned to the house from the park. The trio had full glasses of ice water and there was a pitcher full of more on the coffee table, along with a variety of snacks. Their father had told them to stay on the couch until he had a chance to speak with them. He could be heard clearly from the kitchen talking to the police. They remained quiet and listened.

"Still no sign of Lyra? Not even at her home?...She assaulted two of my children, she needs to be found and arrested!...Uh-huh, yes…I will do that…I won't stand for someone hurting my children…OK, thank you."

Lynn Sr. walked solemnly into the living room, the phone held tightly in his hand. He sat in the armchair.

"Leni, pull a chair in here from the dining room, please. Where are Amanda and Rebecca?"

"Their parents called them home."

"OK then, spill it."

Lincoln explained his reasoning for believing the lunch bag came from the Loud's garbage and that Lucy was asking Leni, Lyra and Amanda if they saw anyone by the garbage cans that day when Mr. Grouse spoke up. Lyra freaked out and ran to the park where he and Lucy caught up to her due to actions taken by Luan.

"I was tired of being in my room," Luan said. "I decided to get out for some air. I saw Lyra lying on the ground and then get up and run off. I saw Lincoln and Lucy run after her. Amanda is very smart. She said that Lyra must have stolen the bracelet and unintentionally framed me. She also said that Lyra will fight if she is cornered. I didn't want Linc or Lucy to get hurt, so took off after them on Lynn's bike, which she had left out. I told Leni and Amanda to get you and to find us. I was just trying to stop her from leaving, I didn't intend for her to run into me like she did."

"Yes, Leni told me to follow her. Amanda explained what was going on," Lynn said. "Lynn, Lana and Lola were already roped into going."

"Yes, I remember," Leni said. "Amanda told them that Lyra had been the one to steal the bracelet. We all decided to get weapons in case Lyra tried to fight."

"Did you tell the police on the phone about Lyra taking the bag?" Lincoln asked.

"I only discussed filing assault charges. Nothing more. Did Lyra admit to taking the bracelet or the bag even?"

The kids thought for a moment.

"No, she didn't say anything really," Lincoln said.

"I'll have a talk with that Detective Paulson and have him talk to Mr. Grouse and see if Amanda will talk to him. Leni, I'm sure you will cooperate."

"I sure will," Leni said. "Cooperate with what again?"

Everyone just ignored her.

"In the meantime," Mr. Loud said to Luan, Lincoln and Lucy. "I want you three to hang out here and rest."

A sad look, with a touch of fear in it, came over Lynn Sr.'s face.

"Don't go anywhere near that girl. Let the cops deal with it. I don't want anything else to happen to any of you. Your mother should be home soon. I'm going to try to talk to Detective Paulson."

Lynn left the living room and headed to the kitchen. Leni shot up from her chair.

"I just remembered something, stay right here!"

The sixteen-year-old returned with a worn, lavender backpack. Luan and Lucy could just make out Lyra's name, hand stitched in black thread at the top of the bag. Leni sat down on the dining chair again and unzipped it.

"She left her backpack here when she ran away. Let's see if she has anything inside that could help us!"

Lincoln pulled the washcloth from his face and looked eagerly towards the bag with his siblings. Leni turned it over and dumped out the contents on the coffee table. There was a school notebook, a pencil case with pens and pencils, a stray pink eraser, a small toiletry bag, and amongst these everyday items was a Detroit Tigers baseball cap. Lucy noted that there was also a Detroit Tigers sticker on the front of the notebook.

"The hat from the pawn shop," Lincoln said.

"Where'd you find that?" Lynn exclaimed, reentering the room.

"Lyra left it in the driveway," Leni told him.

"You probably shouldn't have opened it," Lynn sighed in slight annoyance. "Detective Paulson is going to be coming by to talk to you. Might as well give him this bag too."

* * *

The following morning Luan, Lincoln and Lucy sat on the steps to the front porch. Lynn and Rita had for the most part, relaxed their previous sanctions on Lincoln and Lucy, warning them to stay away from Lyra. The police could take it from there. The Loud's attorney was formulating a motion to bring to the court to have all charges against Luan dismissed. He told the family that it could take a few weeks, but he didn't see Luan having any more issues.

All three were feeling back to normal and were not about to let the police handle the case. They were all far too interested in the motive behind the theft and Lyra's connection to the Crane family.

"It could have just been a crime of opportunity," Luan said. "There were lots of people at the party. Easy to sneak in and out. Leni admitted that she taught Lyra to pick locks. It wouldn't have been hard for her to do what she did. I just happened to be an easy fall guy…I actually don't think she intended for me to be blamed. That's why she felt so bad for me."

"I need to know why though," Lincoln said. "We have to find Lyra and make her talk!"

"Yah, but where could she be?" Lucy asked.

None of them had an answer for that.

"I'd like to know what Mr. Crane did with the real diamonds," Lucy said. "I wonder if there were ever any real diamonds on that bracelet."

"How do we find out?" Luan asked. "Would those detectives tell us if we asked?"

"I could talk to Ben Crane," Lucy said. "He seemed to like me."

* * *

The three kids approached the Crane house carefully. They had been so gung-ho about questioning Ben, they had failed to figure out a way to speak to him. The Crane adults wouldn't be happy to see them.

But, they arrived to an odd scene. On the front lawn there was a pile of mostly clothing and a few knickknacks and toiletry items. Mr. Crane was frantically trying to gather items from the lawn. He was breathing heavily and his very expensive hair piece was askance. Ben Crane was watching his father across the street with Celia and Karen. All three had amused looks on their faces. There were what appeared to be the family's neighbors standing on sidewalks and yards, also watching with interest.

Mrs. Crane appeared at an open second-story window in line with where the pile of items was in the yard. She threw a lamp and more clothes onto the heap below.

"You bastard! You cheating, thieving, lying bastard! I'll ruin you!"

The enraged woman disappeared from the window. Mr. Crane swore profusely as he gathered up more clothing from the ground. Luan, Lincoln and Lucy crossed the street to join Ben and the housekeepers.

"What's going on?" Lincoln asked them as Mrs. Crane threw another armful out the window.

"My mom is throwing my dad out," Ben said. "The police were here earlier and they said my mom's bracelet was fake, or at least the diamonds were. They were actually here to talk to my dad again. They spoke to him yesterday at the station too. Apparently, my dad sold off the diamonds to get money for his girlfriends. That's what they were yelling about before she shoved him out of the house."

"Does your dad have lots of girlfriends?" Lucy asked.

The boy shrugged.

"I don't know. I didn't know he had any until now."

"You get out of here!" Mrs. Crane shrieked from the upstairs window. "I should have believed my parents all those years ago! You are no good!"

The woman slammed the window closed just as a police car pulled to a halt in front of the house, its lights flashing. The crowd continued to watch as one of the two officers contacted Mr. Crane, who was putting his belongings in the trunk of his Mercedes, and the other officer knocked on the front door to the house. Lincoln and his companions could just barely hear the officer and Mr. Crane speaking.

"One of your neighbors called us. What is going on?"

"My wife is very publicly throwing me out. I'm grabbing my things and then I'll be off. I'll see her in court for the rest of what is rightfully mine."

"Any assault, broken items?" the officer asked.

"No, and I wouldn't bother with it if I had been assaulted," he said. "I'm just getting the hell outta here. Your station has my phone number if they need to talk to me."

The other officer had stepped into the house and the first officer joined the second and Mrs. Crane just inside the front door. Mr. Crane had finished packing up his belongings, with the exception of a pair of white, silk boxer shorts that hung from a tall bush in the garden like a flag of surrender. He got into his car, slammed the door and after waving to Ben, drove away.

A few minutes later the police left and the various neighbors went back to their homes. Celia and Karen nodded to the three Loud kids and headed back to the Crane house. Ben remained with Luan, Lincoln and Lucy. He turned and spoke to Lucy directly.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that, Lucy," he said, taking a step towards her. "I'd be honored if you and your siblings would come inside and have something to drink…you especially Lucy."

Lucy actually turned pink!

"I-I-I…" she croaked.

"I don't think that is a good idea," Luan said. "Your mom isn't exactly on the best terms with us."

"Due to our meddling, your family and her marriage has been broken up," Lincoln said.

"Don't worry about it," Ben said. "I am positive this would have happened anyway at some point. You three just sped up the process. I think my mom had suspected that he was cheating on her. So, come on in."

The three siblings looked at each other nervously, but followed the boy into his house.

It was quiet in the front hallway as Ben led them to the den in the back of the house. Mrs. Crane was sitting in an armchair, her face in her hands. Tears leaked out from under her fingers. She looked up as the four kids entered the room, quickly swiping at her mascara smeared eyes. She didn't appear upset by Luan, Lincoln or Lucy's presence.

"I'm sorry you had to experience that, Ben. My life just seems to be spiraling out of control lately."

The woman stood and eying Luan walked over to a coat rack. She took down a purse and pulled out her wallet. Opening it, she pulled out a ten dollar bill. She put her purse and wallet away and approached Luan.

"This is what I owe you," she said, holding the cash out to Luan.

"Thank you," Luan said quietly.

"I owe you more than that in reality, but it's all I can really do," she said. "I am truly sorry you were blamed for the theft. I know my part in it. I should have paid you our agreed amount from the start. Maybe then you wouldn't have been such a perfect suspect. I only named you because I thought it all made sense that you did it."

The woman fell silent for a few moments, but the kids could feel that she wasn't done talking.

"I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. It seems that karma is coming back around to punish me."

The woman returned to her armchair, not making eye contact with any of the kids.

"I forgive you, Mrs. Crane," Luan said. "I understand why I was a good suspect."

The woman nodded and swiped at her eyes again.

"You all can take a seat. Why are you here?"

The kids, including Ben, sat on a couch across from the chair Mrs. Crane was sitting in.

"We actually came to talk to Ben," Lincoln said. "But, could we talk to you?"

The woman nodded.

"We were wondering about how long the bracelet has been fake, but that question was answered by Ben while we were out front," Lincoln said.

"I couldn't get him to tell me when he started switching out the diamonds," Mrs. Crane said. "I had it appraised after he gave it to me, so they were all real then. He always had a wandering eye. I just didn't know he was doing more than looking. I don't really want to talk about that with children though."

"That's alright," Lincoln said. "Now that you know that Lyra Douglas is the thief, do you know her?"

"Well, I don't know her, but apparently she knows my husband," Mrs. Crane said.

"You've seen her?" Lincoln said.

"The police showed me a photo of her last night. I recognized her. A few weeks ago she was knocking on my door. Said she needed to talk to Alvin, that he couldn't ignore her forever. She wouldn't tell me why, was acting all squirrely. I just slammed the door in her face. Maybe I should have listened to her."

"So you don't know why she wanted to talk to your husband?" Lincoln asked.

The woman shook her head.

"That was a mistake…"

* * *

Ben, Luan, Lincoln and Lucy waited outside the hotel's front lobby doors. Mr. Crane had gone directly there from his house after his confrontation with his wife. Ben had called him and he had reluctantly agreed to meet with the Loud kids. He exited the glass doors and walked up to the kids. His hair piece was returned to its seamless place amongst his natural hair. He hugged his son before turning to the other three.

"We'll go to that picnic table in that park," he pointed across the street, "then we can talk."

No one said a word until they were all situated on the sun dried and warped planks that made up the table's benches. Ben sat next to his dad on one side. The Loud kids sat facing them on the opposite bench.

"What do you want to ask me?" the man asked.

"How do you know Lyra Douglas?" Lincoln asked.

"Huh, direct, to the point," Mr. Crane laughed shortly. "I like that in a person. I'll give you the direct answer, I don't know her."

"You don't?" Lincoln asked.

"No, until the police showed me a picture of her, I'd never seen or spoken to her before in my life."

Silence fell over the table.

"Dad, just answer their question," Ben spoke up. "I know when you are lying. I've watched you play poker for years. I know your tell."

Mr. Alvin turned beat red and glared at his son.

"I wasn't lying. I don't know her."

"But you are leaving something out aren't you?" Lucy said.

The man glanced quickly at all the kids' faces before he took a deep breath and finally answered.

"Well, I don't know, know her. I've spoken with her a few times on the phone and once in person in a public place. I don't know how she found me…I knew her mother…OK, I just don't feel comfortable discussing this with children, especially my own son!"

"Dad, it's OK," Ben said. "I think I know where this is going already. Mom already gave me the sex talk."

Mr. Crane looked at Luan, Lincoln and Lucy. Finally he shrugged.

"All right. Starting about sixteen years ago, before I met your mother, Ben, I was in a relationship with Lyra Douglas' mother Rhonda Close. Lyra changed her last name to her adoptive family's name few years back or something. I think Lyra told me, but I didn't care at the time. Anyway, the relationship lasted about a year and we broke it off. I never heard from Rhonda again. Then about three months ago, Lyra calls me out of the blue. Says she is Rhonda's daughter and my daughter. She tells me her mother lost custody of her when she was five, she'd gone into foster care for a while or some such thing. She had been adopted by the Douglas family more recently.

"She then told me that Rhonda had died about five months earlier of a drug overdose. She had just received her mother's belongings and amongst those belongings was her original birth certificate and some letters I'd written Rhonda. I was listed as the father on the birth certificate. I had her take a DNA test and indeed, she is my daughter. She said she just wanted a relationship with me, but I know better. Kids from the foster care system, always looking for the next hand out. Look what she did? She stole the bracelet. So I was right about her."

Ben shot up from the table and stormed away. After he'd walked about fifteen feet, he turned around.

"You-you bastard! How could you treat your own child like that?"

"I was right, she was just looking for money."

"You didn't know that at the beginning! You could have given her a chance! Now look what's happened!"

Luan, Lincoln and Lucy stood as well.

"Well, I think I have all the information I need," Lincoln said.

Suddenly, Lincoln had a thought.

"Where did you meet with Lyra that one time?" he asked.

"At Memorial Park, at a bench on the main path heading towards the wilderness area."

The three Loud kids left the man at the picnic table and followed a very angry Ben down the street.

"What made you ask that?" Luan asked. "I doubt Lyra would just go there again for no reason."

Lincoln shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe she would. She seems to be holding on to what Mr. Crane has done to her. It's not like we have much to work with."


	13. And A Solution

"You were right, Linc, she is here," Luan said, barely believing what she was seeing.

Luan, Lincoln and Lucy were lying flat on the ground behind a leafy hedge. Twenty feet in front of them sat Lyra on a bench, right where Mr. Crane had said he'd met with her. On her lap she held a well-used handkerchief in both hands. The teenager was looking at the ground. It was obvious that she had been crying.

They had gone to stake out her house first before coming to the park. Lincoln had argued with his sisters for the entire hour they were there, trying to make his case of checking the park bench for Lyra. His thought was, the girl had a habit of holding onto things and might go to visit the bench as a way to come to terms with what had happened. Luan and Lucy had finally given in and followed him to the park.

"What should we do?" Luan asked. "Remember what happened yesterday."

"We should call the police," Lucy said. "Or at least get dad."

"We'll police," Luan said. "They are looking for her anyway. Lucy, run home and call them. We will keep an eye on her."

Lucy crept away silently.

I really hope she doesn't move, Lincoln thought.

As if she knew what the boy was thinking, Lyra got up and started walking towards the street. Luan turned to Lincoln.

"Linc, let's follow her carefully, see where she goes."

They waited until Lyra was about twenty feet ahead of them before they quietly started walking behind her. The fifteen-year-old was wearing the grey sweatshirt that had been described by witnesses, her hands were shoved in the front pocket. They were walking in the direction of Luan and Lincoln's house. The siblings knew they would have to be very careful. There was little cover to hide behind in the front lawns of the homes they passed by.

 _Crunch_

Luan's blood froze. She looked down to see what she had stepped on. Someone had swept gravel onto the sidewalk. She looked back up, first a glance at Lincoln and then ahead to where Lyra was staring at them with wide eyes.

"Lyra, please…" Luan started to say, but Lyra turned and shot off down the street.

"Not again!" Lincoln said, taking off after her.

The duo took off after Lyra, and like the day before, Lyra was easily able to out run the Loud kids. But this time, they didn't have to run very far. They were running along the street the Loud's house was located on and several of the Loud children had already noticed their approach. As Lyra drew up even with the large tree in the kids' front yard, Leni's homemade net emerged from behind it, enveloping the fifteen-year-old. The large net twisted around Lyra as she tried to keep running and get free from it at the same time. She cried out as she tripped and fell sideways into the long grass of the yard.

Leni and Lori stepped out from behind the tree, impish grins on their faces. They walked over to gloat over the struggling Lyra, who was just further entangling herself in the rag net as she moved. Lucy and Lynn Sr. came running down the front steps from the house. Lynn had the phone in one hand and Lily in the other.

"Yah, never mind about finding them at the park, they are in the front yard of my house now…Shush, Lily, dadda's on the phone," Lynn was saying into the phone, trying to quiet Lily, who was squealing in delight and pointing at Lyra.

By now Luna and Lynn Jr. had joined Lynn Sr., Lori, Leni, Luan, Lincoln, Lucy and Lily in a circle around Lyra. The girl had finally realized the futility of trying to free herself from the finely crafted net and lay still on the ground, sniffling softly.

"Can someone please get me out of this thing?" she asked.

"Not until the police are here," Lori shouted at her. "You've caused enough trouble."

"Yah, I can't believe I ever thought you were my friend," Leni said.

A minute later, two vehicles pulled up next to the house, one was a police cruiser and the other was a grey SUV. A uniformed officer stepped out of the patrol car and Det. Paulson and Det. Mason stepped out of the other. Lynn Sr. and the officer untangled Lyra from the net and helped her stand up. The officer handcuffed the girl in hopes it would dissuade her from running away. Det. Mason read Lyra her rights. The two detectives explained they had heard the call on their police radio and came straight over. During this time, another vehicle had arrived, juvenile probation officer Olivia Munson stepped out and joined the group.

"Is everyone alright?" Munson asked. "I heard about what happened yesterday with Miss Douglas. The dispatch center just called me to come out to deal with her."

"Yes, we are fine," Luan said.

Munson turned to Lyra, shaking her head and looking sad.

"I had such high hopes for you Lyra, we all did."

Lyra had previously had an angry and defiant look on her face. Her expression fell into one of sorrow and regret at Munson's words.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Munson. I didn't mean for things to go this way," she said, barely above a whisper.

"What happened, Lyra?" Munson asked.

"I got my mom's stuff finally. I found out my father's name."

"What do you mean?" Munson asked. "Tell me what led to all this."

"Well, you all know that I am adopted, the Douglas' are not my biological parents. They were originally my foster parents and then they finally adopted me. It just became official. I love my adoptive family so much, but I wanted to know more about where I came from. My mom, my real mom, never said who my biological father was. All I remember is a couple times when she referred to him as a worthless two-timer who abandoned us before I was born. She got really into drugs sometime after she had me and I was taken away from her when I was five. She never got it back together and finally signed away her parental rights when I was eight. I was too young to know what went on with the courts trying to find my biological father.

"She died about eight months ago and she apparently had a storage locker. There was just junk in it, but I found my original birth certificate and some other papers and returned letters. The birth certificate said my father was Alvin Crane, and in the papers and letters, it named Alvin Crane as my father. For some reason or another, I'd never been able to locate my birth record before. In the letters, my mom was begging him to come back to her and to help raise me. She sounded so desperate. It made me so angry at him when I read those letters, what she went through. I decided to get him the benefit of the doubt and reach out to him, maybe it wasn't all his fault. Maybe he had a change of heart and even though I have a new family now, we could be friends. I did the DNA test like he asked. I am his daughter, but he would have nothing to do with me. He rejected me like he did my mother."

Tears were flowing down Lyra's face and she was shaking with rage as she kept talking.

"He rejected me. Said I was just some state charity case wanting money! I didn't need or want his money! I just wanted revenge after that! I acted on impulse that day, stepping inside that house, I know I did the wrong thing. On day of the party, I saw my chance. I saw how he lived, how his son lived…my brother. I lived in foster care for so many years, going from house to house before I came to the Douglas' house when I was seven. Not knowing if I was going to be able to stay with them, with any of them. Most of the foster families, were OK, many were just overcrowded. Some of them were really nice to me, but I always had to move for a long time. It always made me very angry.

"So, I snuck inside the Crane house. No one noticed with the number of people there. I searched around and couldn't find anything. I thought I got caught when I nearly walked into Ben Crane harassing something in a pet carrier in one of the bedrooms, it was making a strange shrieking sound. Anyway, I had just gone into the master bedroom when Alvin Crane entered. I had just enough time to dive under the bed and hide. He walked into the closet and opened the safe that was in there. I saw him pull the bracelet from his shirt pocket. He looked at it and grinned before putting it inside the safe. When he left and I was sure no one else would be coming in, I picked the lock in the safe and took the bracelet. I didn't know that the diamonds were fake. I also didn't know that Luan would be blamed. I am sorry about that, Luan. I returned it because I thought maybe the police would ease up on you. I just used a bag I found in your garbage. I had the bracelet in my pocket that day. I didn't know it would have your prints on it and make things even worse. I am so sorry."

Luan said nothing.

The Loud family watched as Lyra was loaded into the back of the patrol car and Munson and the patrol car pulled away. The detectives left after assuring Mr. Loud and Luan that they would immediately start the proceedings for dropping the charges against Luan on their end. They warned the family that it could take some time though. They also praised Lincoln and Lucy for their thorough investigation of Luan's case, saying that they could have a bright future in law enforcement or in the courtroom as attorneys or prosecutors if they chose to go into those fields.

As the detectives pulled away, all the Louds present could be seen hugging Luan tightly.


	14. Epilogue: Letters From Friends

**_Two Months Later_**

To: Sabrina Tooms

Inmate Number: 124A47

Upper Michigan Juvenile Detention and Rehab Center

110B20 Riverton Rd.

Yotown, MI

Aug. 7

Dear Rina,

Hi, I just got your letter dated August 3rd today! I went directly to my desk in my room to write you back. Excuse my handwriting and any spelling errors. I'm glad my letter got to you too. I wasn't sure about the process of writing kids in juvy. I was worried that it didn't get to you, since I sent mine a month ago.

Yay I'm so glad that you are doing good at the juvenile center. How much longer until you are done with your G.E.D.? Let me know, I'll be here at my house so you can write me any time. I'm sure alcohol counseling is hard, but you keep going to it. Don't let memories of your mom keep you down and keep you from achieving what you want to achive. Remember, you won't have to go back to her when you are out. You are your own person now. Focus on getting on what you need to do to get on your feet and move on to your next stage in life.

Good news for me too! I am slowly but surely getting back on my feet. I got my first job with Funny Business since the incident with the Cranes. It is the day after tomorrow. I am doing my clown routine. My brother Lincoln is going to help me. It's been two months. I'm hoping it goes well. I'm slowly getting my confidence back. I'm so glad that Lincoln and Lucy saved my equipment. I was so upset and depressed about what was happening to me that I just threw it all out.

I was not going to do Funny Business anymore becuse I thought no one would want to hire a suspected thief anymore, even if it weren't true. It will probably be a while before things are back to normal though. It took two months for someone to call me for a performance. I am lucky to have such a supportive, if (L)oud family (haha).

Speaking of some funny business, that slimeball Alvin Crane is being served the business by his wife! (haha) She is divorcing him, taking him for all he's worth. Which is not much. The only remaining diamond in their house is the one that was on her finger and only because she never took it off and he couldn't get it from her. It came flying off after what he did though! Like it had wings! All other diamonds were glass, not just the ones on the bracelet. He'd sold them all to fund his girlfriends and his busness wasn't doing well I hear. He doesn't do well with money.

I heard that Mrs. Crane is asking the court to be lenient on Lyra. The bracelet wasn't worth that much as it turns out and if it wasn't for Lyra, Mrs. Crane might never have found out about it being fake and the girlfriends. At least not for a long time. It took the court about three weeks to finally have me appear and tell me all charges are dismissed. That was a good day. I don't know what my family is going to do about our lawyer fees. The lawyer is a friend of my dad's, so he gave him a discount, but you can't expect him to work for free. My mom was talking about making Mr. Crane pay since he in a sense started the whole thing, but I don't think she was totally serious about it.

I'm trying to forgive the Cranes for all that happened. I have been able to forgive Lyra for all that she did, she is a victim in this too and she didn't intend for what happened to me to happen. At least her adoptive family is still standing with her and giving her support. She needs it more than anyone. The Cranes are just nasty people, Mr. Crane especially. I wouldn't be surprised if he had more kids that he's hiding.

I'm really angry with Ben Crane. I called him the night they arrested Lyra and asked him what he did to Gary, my rabbit. Lyra said she saw him messing with him the day of the party. He said he didn't mean any harm, but wanted to hold Gary. Gary wouldn't cooperate with him and Ben pulled him out by his tail and held him in the air like that. Gary kicked him and was dropped a few feet. Gary ran off after that. Poor Gary! Do what you want to me, I can defend myself, but don't you dare hurt my defenseless bunny!

Also, I can't thank you enough for helping me while I was in juvy. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there for me.

Well, I hope to hear from you soon soon soon!

Luan Loud

* * *

To: Luan Loud

1216 Franklin Ave

Royal Woods, MI

August 11th

Luan!

I'm so so so so so happy for you!

There really couldn't be any better news for you! Really there couldn't.

My teacher here is really patient with us. She's like 70 though. Can't believe she's still teaching. Especially teaching hooligans like us. That's why I wrote you the first time. She is encouraging us to work on our penmanship and our spelling, punctuation and grammer. I'm doing my best. I've always had good handwriting though. I'm trying to get through the English portion of the G.E.D. as fast as I can. Then I can focus on the math. I can add, subtact, multiply and divide simple stuff with the best of `em, but get more than that I don't do so well. I didn't pay much attention in middle school. I'm also taking a keyboarding class to get good at typing.

Since you are unsure, these are the basic rules for writing me letters:

Your full name and address have be on the envelope along with my full name and the center's address. My name has to be on the letter too. No sexual content of any kind, no swearing, no maps or bluprints, no threats of any kind. No make up or letters soaked in anything, no glitter, glue, perfume, plastic, or foil decorations (I hope you know what I mean by foil decorations, I don't know what it is called). No food either. Those are the main things. I don't think they will be a problem for us.

I'm just so glad that you are getting back into your clowning, and clowning around. HONK HONK (that's the sound of your clown nose, I heard there are ones that squeak?)

And as far as that jerk, Alvin Crane, I hope he gets what's coming to him. What a slimeball! By rights he should so have to pay your lawyer, but probably won't. Hah, he will be too busy paying his wife/exwife! And girlfriends maybe? Once you start buying things for girls you can't just stop. They clearly aren't the type to let him stop. They will just leave him if he does. Do you know how many he has? Are they all at the same time? PLAYA! And if he has kids, they can make him pay!

I can't believe what happened to your poor bunny! If you can, please send a picture of you and Gary! I'd LOVE to see you two together.

Well, right me back soon girlie!

It made my day getting your first and then second letter! I'm trying not to get too close to the girls here. We all have the same problems and I don't want to continue mine by getting in with them, but I have to talk to some one you know. Writing you, a down to earth and good girl will help me though this. A lot of these girls can't figure that out. If you just surround yourself with addicts you will never be free from addiction. You will have no chance.

Well, I am waiting eagerly for your letter back. I hope things went w3ll at your performance. Let me know.

Your friend, Rina

* * *

Rina's inmate number and the juvenile center's address number are easter eggs! Let me know in comments if you can figure them out. They aren't actually difficult to figure out.

Looking back, I wish I could have done some puns with Luan, but I find them too hard and just gave up on them. I also would imagine her not doing puns if she was really upset, too upset to deal with stressful situations with humor, which I imagine her character doing under normal circumstances.


End file.
